Dig
by Happily Eric After
Summary: Detective Sookie Stackhouse has been assigned to a case of serial murders that are happening in her hometown of Bon Temps, Louisiana. Will the local Vampire Sheriff help her find the killer in time before the blood trail leads to her door?
1. Help

**Hey guys. I have had this story floating around in my mind for awhile now, and it has been bothering me to get written! I need a change of pace so to speak, instead of writing Dead Set the entire time. I want to assure my lovely readers that I am NOT abandoning Dead Set or the companion pieces to it and I will be updating them as well soon enough. I just needed to kind of break off and start my own version of a Sookie Stackhouse story from scratch.**

**My father was a cop for over forty years, he was an MP in the military, and then joined the Sheriff's department in my hometown of Colorado Springs, CO. He was on S.W.A.T and a Detective in the Sex Crimes unit, and after many engaging stories with my father, I wanted to make a criminal/romance/adventure type story for our favorite heroine and Vampire. I know many of you will say that you have the criminal already picked out, but don't count the chickens yet before they hatch. I'm gonna throw some surprises at you. This first chapter is more of an introduction and set in the third person, but in the second chapter it will go to Sookie's POV and I will also be switching it up and going into Eric's POV once he enters my story. I hope you all enjoy. :P A thousand thanks to my lovely Beta 2Tcup-Humans who stayed up late to beta for me so I could post this as soon as possible. You are amazing!**

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><p><strong>Dig<strong>

"Lieutenant, there's a Sheriff Dearborn on line one for you."

Lieutenant Jonathan Whitley looked up from the paperwork spread out before him and glanced at the telephone as his secretary's voice filled his office. Leaning over, he pushed the intercom button. "Thanks, Sheryl." Picking up the phone he pressed the blinking line and answered, the authority clear in his deep voice. "This is Lieutenant Whitley."

"Hey there, this is Sheriff Bud Dearborn from Renard Parish. Am I speakin' with the fella in charge?" The voice belonged to an older gentleman, and his southern accent was very prominent.

"Yes, you are speaking with the man in charge of the homicide branch of the Shreveport Police Department. How can I help you, Sheriff?"

"Well, I have a death on my hands. And it's not of the normal variety, if you get my meanin'. My department patrols Bon Temps and the surroundin' areas here in Renard Parish, and we deal with the typical stuff, but not murder. And this one in particular is pretty bad. I hate to admit this, but we are not equipped to handle this kind of crime. I was callin' to ask if there was any chance that you could send one of your detectives out to investigate this murder with us?" Whitley could hear the silent plea from the man on the other end.

Reaching over and grabbing his notepad, Whitley poised his pen over the paper. "Why don't you give me the information and I'll see what I can do for you, Sheriff."

Ten minutes later, the Lieutenant hung up with Sheriff Dearborn and hit the button on his intercom. "Sheryl, send Stackhouse and Herveaux in here."

A knock came at the door a few minutes later. "Come in." Whitley called out, leaning back in his chair.

A man and a woman entered the office, both sitting down in the chairs in front of the Lieutenant's desk. The woman smiled brightly, "Morning, Lieutenant."

Whitley gave her a smile, secretly wishing he was thirty years younger. Sookie Stackhouse was not only a drop, dead gorgeous blonde, but she was also his star detective, having joined homicide two years ago after taking the detectives exam while she was still on patrol. She was the youngest investigator on the Shreveport Police Department and was probably the brightest they had. She never left a case unsolved and always got the suspect in the end. People underestimated her, only seeing the outside package first. But Sookie had a way about her; a way of talking that actually had a few of the accused pissing themselves in the interrogation room. This was just the case for her and Herveaux.

"Good Morning, Stackhouse, Herveaux. I have a murder for you," Whitley replied, pulling his notes close.

"What are the details, Boss?" Herveaux asked, pulling his own notepad from his suit pocket. Alcide Herveaux was a large man, with a mop of unruly, black hair and green eyes. When Whitley had paired him with Sookie, little did he know that the two would surpass all of his expectations with their professional dedication to the job and their arrest record. He had at first thought that Alcide would be resentful of having to work with a woman, especially since there were not that many working as detectives in the Shreveport Police Department. But the two had gotten along wonderfully, falling into a rhythm of playing good cop/bad cop, and it worked for them.

Whitley looked at Sookie. "You grew up in Bon Temps, right?" Sookie nodded her head, her eyes wide. "I just got a phone call from Sheriff Dearborn. Seems that a murder took place in the middle of the night, they just found the body. The victim's name is Maudette Pickens."

Sookie gasped. "Oh my goodness. I went to High School with her."

"Did you know her well?" The Lieutenant asked.

Sookie shrugged. "Not really. Small High School, so everyone knew each other. But we weren't friends or anything. I just knew of her. What happened?"

"Maudette was found dead this morning in her apartment. She worked at the Grabit Kwik and her boss became concerned when she didn't show up for work yesterday or this morning, so he rode over to her place and asked the manager of the apartments to check to see if she was okay. The deceased was found naked in her bed, strangled and with Vampire bite marks on her inner thigh. I need you guys to go into this hard, especially if a Vampire is responsible for this. As you both know Vampire crimes have been on the rise since they came out two years ago, and if that is the case, I will have Rasul assist you so he can guide you through this carefully."

"Has the Sheriff's Department moved the body, yet?" Sookie asked as she stood, anxious to get going.

"No, the coroner is there but they will wait so you can see the crime scene for yourself. I want you to bring Diego with you. Have him run the usual Forensics tests. I expect an update by the end of the day," the Lieutenant instructed, tossing his pad back onto the desk.

Alcide stood as well. "You got it boss." He turned, buttoning his suit jacket as he opened the door. Sookie followed after him, smoothing a hand over the intricate twist that her blonde hair was styled up in.

"And Sookie?" Whitley called out after her just as she was about to close the door.

She stuck her head back into the office. "Yeah, Boss?"

"Be careful."

She smiled sweetly and then drawled, "Always."

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><p><strong>Reviews=Love Thanks for reading ya'll<strong>


	2. The Consequences Of Lust

**Wow, a million thanks to everyone for the amazing response to this story. All the alert, favorite story and review alerts was amazing, and totally made my day. I love it! I hope you guys like where I take this story, it should be a wild ride. I'm going to cover all the crimes committed throughout the SSN series, but with my own twist. A big thanks to my Beta, 2Tcup-Humans. Love ya bunches bud.**

**This chapter contains some overly descriptive matter on death, in particular corpses. If you have a weak stomach, you may wanna breeze over it. If I have made any mistakes about fact matter here, I apologize. Just going off of things I have heard from my Dad or from watching to much Cold Case and CSI. :P**

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><p><strong>SPOV<strong>

"I'm guessing since we're heading toward your hometown to help out the local Sheriff's Department that Bon Temps doesn't get many murder cases. Am I right?"

I glanced over at Alcide for a moment, then brought my eyes back to the road. "When deaths occur it is usually from natural causes or accidental. The last recorded murder in Bon Temps was at the turn of the century. The Sheriff's Department usually deal with rowdy rednecks or drunk drivers. I can see where Dearborn is a little out of his league."

"You know the Sheriff?" Alcide asked curiously.

I shifted uncomfortably behind the wheel, my seatbelt rubbing against the polyester of my jacket, which was stifling in the August heat. "Yeah, I know who he is."

Alcide laughed. "Boy, aren't you full of information today? He's an asshole, I take it?"

"You could say that," I muttered, reaching over and hitting the AC button and turned it all the way up. I sighed happily as I felt the cool air blast my warm face. "Bud Dearborn was friends with my father, but that really didn't seem to make a lick of difference as my brother and I grew up. Bud thinks Jason and I are worthless. Jason doesn't help matters by drinking and sleeping around with every available woman in Bon Temps and the surrounding areas. I already told you what Bon Temps thinks of me, a sentiment that the Sheriff agrees with completely."

"Crazy Sookie?" Alcide said sadly, and I nodded grimly.

The ridicule that I had heard for most of my life, both verbally and mentally, had lit a fire inside me to get the hell out of Bon Temps as soon as I could and make something of myself. The reason I had been dubbed "Crazy Sookie" is easily explained; I'm a telepath. For the longest time, I had looked upon my rare talent of hearing people's thoughts as a curse. I had scared people with my knowledge of their deep, dark secrets, of knowing the things that they would rather forget. I knew the lies they told when they opened their mouth and said one thing, only to hear that they were thinking the complete opposite.

Hearing those secrets is what drove me to be a cop. I wanted to use my telepathy for good, and with the encouragement from my Grandmother, that is exactly what I did. I no longer regarded the fact that I could hear other people's thoughts as a curse. It was a gift.

"When you're different, it scares people," Alcide said softly, looking away and staring out the window at the scenery flying pass.

"Yes, it does," I agreed, silently happy that I knew at least one other person who had a secret about themselves that they couldn't openly share. There was a reason why Alcide and I got along so well with one another. When we had first started working with each other, I noticed right from the start that I couldn't read my partner, not like other people. His thoughts were garbled, fuzzy, more colored like a mood ring. I had only met one other person in my life that I was unable to read, and that had been my boss at the bar I worked at before I joined the Police Academy. His name was Sam Merlotte.

I had been intrigued by Alcide and the fact that his brain pattern was much like Sam's had been, and after much consideration, I flat out asked Alcide what he was. He had been shaken by my question, and in a show of good faith, I spilled my secret to him and told him how I could tell that he was different from normal people. He had been embarrassed, but had told me the truth in the end. He was a Werewolf.

I should have been surprised, but around the time Alcide told me that he could morph into a wolf, the Vampires had just come out of their coffins and told the world that they were real and not just fictional creatures of lore. The world has responded in different ways and for me, I just accepted the strangeness that followed their announcement, or what has become known as the Great Revelation. I wasn't completely normal myself, and who was I to judge Alcide when he was so accepting of my own special talent? He had been amazed by the prospect of me being able to read minds and had quizzed me on what he was thinking. That was when I found out I could hear him if he thought directly at me. Other than that, Alcide was like a radio station that wouldn't come into tune.

As time passed and the world became acclimatised to the presence of Vampires in everyday society, the rise in crime from and against Vampires rose alarmingly fast. Bodies were found drained of blood. The Vampires themselves were being attacked by the newly titled "drainers", people who were only interested in collecting the blood of the Vampire to sell it in back alleys or on the black market, leaving the Vampire to die. The Police Department had begun to hire a few Vampires who would work exclusively for them, especially in assisting in the detainment of Vampires who committed any crime against the human populace. The Shreveport P.D. had even gotten a silver lined van to transport the Vampires since they were exceptionally strong and silver was one of their weaknesses.

As our caseload piled up, I had made the conscious decision to use my telepathy in hand with the evidence we collected to nail any suspect that we came across. Alcide had agreed wholeheartedly to my idea, and from that point on, our arrest record was impressive. I had felt guilty at first about using my telepathy and having an unfair advantage against my fellow officers, but considering the scumbags we were putting away, I felt alleviated of any guilt.

Alcide and I, along with our new Vampire Detective Rasul, had come to think of ourselves as the Supe Squad. The Lieutenant put us on the cases that reeked of the Supernatural, and considering the fact that neither of us could be glamoured (Rasul had tested us, it s a form of hypnosis from a Vampire), we felt comfortable in our new assignment.

The forty five minute trip to Bon Temps went quickly, a drive I could easily make in my sleep since I commuted here almost every weekend to see my Grandmother and Jason. Finding the apartment complex that Maudette lived in was simple enough, and I just followed the flashing lights of the Bon Temps Sheriff's Department patrol cars to find the right house.

"Jesus, the circus come to town?" Alcide muttered as he saw the massive crowd of people that stood behind the barricade that had been set up.

"You'd think so, huh? Bon Temps thrives on gossip. It's a way of life here. This will keep the town buzzing for at least a month," I stated. I parked as far away from the crowd as I could, wanting to steer clear of the many faces I knew in the mass of people across the way. It's not that I hid the fact that I was a police detective. Gran was so proud of me and bragged about it to anyone who would listen. I just wanted to avoid the snooping questions that I knew would be directed my way since everyone would recognize me when I stepped out of this car.

"Well, let's get this party started," Alcide said energetically and got out of the car. He called out to Diego Rivera who pulled up behind us in his Jeep. Diego was our Forensic Investigator, he would scour the crime scene for any evidence that he could find.

Pulling my Ray-Ban sunglasses off of the visor, I popped them on and stepped out into the mid morning sunshine, the heat already unbearable and the sun wasn't even at its highest point yet. Peeling my suit jacket off, I tossed it into the back seat of my Pontiac Grand Am. Adjusting the 9mm and the handcuffs that I had clipped to my belt, I plucked at the sleeveless white silk blouse I was wearing as I closed the car door and followed after Alcide and Diego.

As I ducked under the yellow police tape that had been wrapped around the perimeter of the apartment house, I lowered the mental shields I use to block out unwanted thoughts and allowed myself the opportunity to ascertain if the killer was perhaps hanging around and watching the aftermath that came from his handy work. A cacophony of voices flooded my mind, the thoughts meshed together overwhelmingly, but one was the loudest, and most certainly the angriest.

_Get no respect around here. Can't believe Dearborn phoned Shreveport to have them help us on our murder investigation. I was first on the scene, this is my case. If someone else addresses me as Andy again instead of Detective Bellefleur, I'm gonna loose it. Holy shit, is the heat getting to me or is that Sookie Stackhouse walking toward me? God damn it, can't I ever get a break? Now I'm gonna have the town lunatic take over my case. Oh, I bet she is gonna love this. No good, bat shit crazy Stackhouses'..._

Hearing nothing but Andy's pity party, I threw my shields back into place, thankful that I had the foresight to put my sunglasses on which hid the hurt I'm sure was reflected in my eyes at his less than kind thoughts of me. Andy Bellefleur was the Grandson of the richest woman in town, and the Bellefleur family always acted like they were better than anyone else. I suppose when you had money you couldn't afford the manners.

_Suck it up, Sookie,_ I thought to myself. It s time to show these bozos what you can really do.

"Are you Sheriff Dearborn?" I heard Alcide ask the grizzled older man with the mustachio and the Stetson on his head. His dark brown eyes looked over Alcide and Diego, than flicked over to me as I joined them to stand just outside the front door to Maudette's apartment. He nodded his head.

"Lieutenant Whitley sent us over to help you with your investigation. I'm Detective Herveaux, this is Rivera, and I assume you know Detective Stackhouse?" Alcide asked, glancing at me over the top of Diego's head.

"Yes, nice to meet you both. Hi, Sookie," he said rather awkwardly, Andy standing a little behind him, dabbing a handkerchief against his receding hairline which was moist with perspiration.

"Hello, Sheriff Dearborn. Andy." I smiled slightly as Andy's face twitched that I addressed him by his first name and not as Detective Bellefleur.

"Well, we'll show you on back to the body," Sheriff Dearborn said, but Diego spoke up.

"The fewer people in that room, the better. Who knows how much evidence has already been compromised by the amount of people coming in and out this place." Diego was a small man, his words tinged with a Spanish accent. He wasn't afraid of speaking his mind, and he pissed off quite a few people with his quest in finding the clues that would lead us to our suspect.

Sheriff Dearborn's face flushed in anger. "Are you sayin' that we don't know how to walk a crime scene?"

Diego shifted the metal suitcase he held from one hand to the other. "Since you called us for help, I have to assume that you and your people don't know that you need to walk in a circle at a crime scene to make sure that nothing that is deemed invaluable to this investigation is destroyed by negligence to detail. If you feel I am insulting you and your officers, I can go back to Shreveport. I have more than enough to keep me busy."

I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from smiling as both Dearborn and Andy blustered a bit, probably trying to figure out some of the bigger words that Diego had used. Diego Rivera had come to us from Los Angeles, where he was born and raised. He was as smart as a whip and had never let me down with the analysis of his lab work. I really enjoyed working with him.

"No, no, I don't want you to leave. You have to understand this is the first murder in Bon Temps in over a hundred years. People around here trust each other, we don't even lock our doors. Ask Sookie. This is new territory for all of us," Dearborn said, flicking his Stetson up a bit to reveal the sweat stains on the inside rim of the hat.

"Sheriff, if we could please just go on through by ourselves. I assure you that we will speak and compare notes after we view the crime scene," I said in a soothing voice, removing my sunglasses and tucking them into the open collar of my shirt.

Without another word I led the way into the house, Alcide and Diego following after me and leaving Dearborn and Andy on the front porch, whispering to each other furiously.

Maudette's apartment was sparsely furnished, just the bare necessities in the living room and the kitchen. Walking by the couch, we entered the short hallway that led to the bedroom and bathroom. Diego stopped out in the hallway and opened his silver suitcase, sorting out the tools that he needed to process the scene.

Stepping into the room, I moved to the side of the door as Alcide stepped the opposite way. Under a window sat the double bed, and sprawled naked across the top of the blankets was Maudette. She was laying on her back with her arms spread out wide. Her legs were open, and I could see the bruising on her inner thighs from where I stood. Walking the edge of the room, I got close to the bed and looked down at her neck. She was definitely strangled, and by the looks of it, a rope or a belt had been used. The ligature bruising was thick, and quite deep. Whoever did this to her was very strong.

I glanced at Maudette's face, her eyes still open and staring sightlessly up at the ceiling. The horror she had experienced in the last minutes of her life were still mirrored in the glassy gaze, and I had to look away.

I still remember when I saw my first corpse, it is something you never forget, like your first kiss. It was my first year on patrol and there had been a massive traffic accident on the interstate. Several of us had responded to the call and when I had arrived with my partner, the severity of the pile up was quite clear. It had rained during the day, and that night, the temperatures had plummeted, turning the roads into a skating rink. A car had spun out and hit another, and like a row of dominoes, one car after another collided.

Up to that point, I had just dealt with speeding tickets, noise complaints or domestic violence calls. I had never seen a dead body before. In the chaos that reined in rounding up the survivors and getting them into the ambulances, I heard a small child screaming for her mother. I followed the panicked thoughts of the child and upon finding her, I saw that she was trapped in the backseat, her legs pinned against the drivers seat. Her mother had flown through the window and was lying dead on the hood, her head busted open and brain matter everywhere.

I had almost lost it right there, but I focused on the child and had begun to sing "Mary had a little Lamb" over and over again, without realizing it. I had only come out of my shocked state and became aware of where I was when my Sergeant had pried the child from my arms to transfer her into an ambulance. I don't even remember how I got her out of the car. My partner had driven me home that night and I had been given three days off to recover from the tragedy I had seen. I had crawled into my shower and bawled my eyes out.

I had seen many corpses since then, and with each one, I toughened up a bit more, allowing myself to feel the numbness that came over me so I could do my job without stressing out over a dead body. Staring at Maudette now, I felt different and I chalked it up to the fact that I had known this woman at one point in my life. All the other corpses I had seen were strangers. It was an odd feeling seeing someone I knew, murdered.

Looking up at Alcide, I saw him taking notes as he studied the body, as well. Quietly, I whispered, "Do you smell anything?"

Alcide shook his head. "Too many people have been in this room. I wouldn't be able to pinpoint the suspects scent even if I tried." That was a shame. Alcide had solved a few of our cases because of his keen sense of smell.

Diego came into the room at that moment with his state of the art camera and began shooting pictures of the body. I stood to the side and looked down at the floor, not noticing anything strange or out of place. It was safe to say that the murder weapon was not going to be found here.

Careful of where I stepped, I came closer to the bed and stared at the fang marks on Maudette's leg. They looked to be several days old, and with the cases I worked, I could tell the old from the new. I looked over my shoulder at Alcide and pointed at the marks. He shook his head, understanding my silent question.

_She wasn't drained, I don't smell blood in the air. _ Alcide thought the words at me since Diego was in the room, and I nodded in understanding.

If Maudette still had every ounce of blood, it was safe to say that a Vampire probably didn't kill her. There was no way that a Vampire would pass up fresh blood.

After a few more minutes spent looking around the room and re-examining the body for any other fang marks that might have been missed, I left Alcide and Diego in the room to go speak with Sheriff Dearborn and Andy. I found them waiting in the living room.

"And, what do you think?" Sheriff Dearborn asked immediately when he saw me.

Instead, I answered a question with a question. "Did you guys find anything strange or out of place when you arrived on scene?"

Andy puffed himself out a bit, trying to look important. "When I got here, I noticed a camera here by the T.V. Seems Maudette had a thing for recording herself when she had company over. I found several tapes stashed under the television and Kenya put them in her car. Maudette might have recorded herself with the killer."

I nodded, agreeing. "Just make sure that the tapes are kept out of the sun. They will melt, otherwise."

Andy's eyes bugged slightly and he moved quickly out the front door, calling for Kenya. I looked back at Sheriff Dearborn. "Have you questioned the neighbors, did they hear or see anything?"

Sheriff Dearborn looked at me strangely. "Yes, we did. They said that it wasn't uncommon for Maudette to have men coming in and out of this place on a regular basis. She had a...reputation. But as far as hearing or seeing anything that was unusual, no."

I tapped my chin as I walked to the front door, examining the door jam and the handle. "No forced entry, so she let the guy in. She had to have known him." I turned and looked around the living room closely. Everything was in place, just like in the bedroom. "Nothing is broken, the furniture isn't moved, so that means no struggle took place."

"This is weird," Sheriff Dearborn said, just as Andy came back into the apartment, his face flushed from his mad dash to find Kenya.

I glanced up at Dearborn. "What is?"

"This," he gestured to me, "you, being a Detective. Never in my wild imaginings did I ever think I would be talking about a murder investigation with you."

I cocked my head and folded my arms. "Well, I worked very hard to get where I am. I'm very good at my job, and while I agree its weird to be standing in Maudette Pickens living room while she is laying naked and dead in the next room, I think now is the time to stop thinking of me as "Crazy Sookie Stackhouse" and start concentrating on the case at hand. Now, when was the body found?"

Maudette was found at 7:23 a.m. this morning by the apartment manager Douglas Ferdinand and by her boss Harris Berkeley. After speaking with both men and listening in on their thoughts during questioning, I found that they both spoke truthfully and were hiding nothing, and the only thing Harris was guilty of was propositioning Maudette at work. No wonder he was so concerned when she didn't show up for work yesterday or today. She had promised him some action that he had been looking forward too.

"Sookie, do you think those bite marks on Maudette's leg mean that maybe a Vampire did her in?" Andy asked after I finished questioning the two men.

"I wouldn't rule a Vampire out, but in my opinion, I don't think it was one. The bite marks are several days old and once the autopsy is done, I'm sure you will find that she is still in possession of all her blood. A Vampire wouldn't pass that up, that would be considered a waste."

"Hmmm," Andy said thoughtfully, and I quickly listened in on what he was thinking._ Portia said that a new Vampire came to town last week. I wonder if he could have done this? Damn bloodsuckers, wish they never came out of their caskets._

I schooled my features to hide my surprise that a Vampire had taken up residence here in Bon Temps. This was such a small town, what draw did it have, especially for a Vampire? "What is it, Andy?" I decided to be nice this once and ask what had him so pensive, even though I already knew.

"Well, Portia was telling me at the end of last week that a Vampire moved to town. I guess he just moved into the old Compton Estate. Maybe we should question him," Andy explained, and this time, I couldn't hide my surprise.

"What? The old Compton Estate? You're sure of this?" I asked sharply, uncomfortable with the idea that Gran had a Vampire living so close to her. It wasn't that I was prejudice against them, but I knew that many of them thought of humans as the lesser species and could be quite cruel when they wanted to be. Perhaps stopping by and questioning him wasn't such a bad idea. I could ask him about his whereabouts once we had Maudette's time of death, and while I was at it, I could get an idea of what kind of Vampire he was.

The old Compton Estate was on one side of Sweet Home Cemetery, and Gran's house was on the opposite border. I had hassled her many times to come live with me in Shreveport, but she was as stubborn as a mule about leaving Bon Temps. Gran didn't want to leave the family house behind, and while I understood the feelings she had for the house, it didn't help my worry that she lived alone out in an isolated area.

"Yes, I'm positive it was the old Compton Estate. Don't worry Sookie, your Gran is a tough, old bird," Andy joked, but I just narrowed my eyes at him, unamused. I would like to see how Andy would act if his Grandmother, Caroline Bellefleur, lived next door to a possible murder suspect. He'd be having puppies.

I went to check on Alcide and Diego, and upon entering the room, I cringed. It was heading into the early afternoon and the heat of the day was not helping with the smell that was now coming off of Maudette's body. There was a reason dead bodies were refrigerated; it prolonged the decaying process. Even Alcide look sickened, his nose more affected by it then my own.

"How you guys doing in here?" I asked, trying to breathe through my mouth.

"We've finished processing the body. I have found some trace evidence on Maudette. There was some rope fibers hidden in the crook of her shoulder, so we know what the murder weapon was. I need to run some comparisons with the thickness of the rope to try to find what kind was used. Her fingernails are broken so I scraped under the nail, hopefully it will turn up some skin tissue. She had dried semen on her stomach, along with a few pubic hairs. We need to compare the pubic samples with her own to make sure that the hair is not her own, but I'm pretty sure they aren't. I have a feeling we are dealing with a necrophiliac. The coroner will have to take her core body temperature to give us the estimated time of death." Diego fired all these facts at me and I shook my head in disgust.

"I think we are ready for the coroner, now." Alcide said, his lips pursing together.

It never ceased to amaze me the depravity that I witnessed on a daily basis. I mentally corrected my thoughts about Vampires from earlier; humans could be just as vicious, if not more, as Vampires.

Broken fingernails meant that Maudette fought her attacker, but she obviously didn't win the fight. The bruising on her inner thighs might have been caused postmortem, meaning that she received the bruises after her death, but the coroner would need to verify that during the autopsy. Diego had a pretty good track record of looking at a crime scene and telling us who we wanted to look for. His prediction that we were dealing with a necrophiliac was a chilling thought, but I didn't doubt his estimation.

Walking through the living room and out the front door, I breathed deeply of the fresh air as I stepped out into the sunshine. Across the street I could see that the crowd had thinned a bit, but a few of the die hards were still camped out and I could just make out Mrs. Fortenberry's large straw hat and her bright pink kimono.

Mike Spencer was Renard Parish's coroner and owned the local funeral home. He had backed his black van into the driveway and had the back doors open and waiting, a stretcher at the ready. I approached and smiled at him, and he extended his hand toward me.

"Sookie Stackhouse, how you doing, girlie?" Mike asked me as I took his hand and shook it. I didn't really like touching people too much; it made it harder to block unwanted thoughts. I didn't want to appear rude though, plus my Gran wouldn't let me hear the end of it if I had forgotten my manners.

_Man, what I wouldn't give to stick my face in-between those luscious tits._ I snatched my hand away quickly, not wanting to hear the rest of what he wanted to do. When I heard things like that, it made me want to stun gun someone. I had grown up hearing the inappropriate things that many of the men in Bon Temps wanted to do to me, including my Uncle.

That was half the reason I had gotten out of Bon Temps. I wanted a clean slate in a place where people didn't know every little detail of my life and judged me by it. I was respected as a Police Detective, and to be honest, that was all I ever wanted. To be respected. Being held in high esteem by my co-workers made me feel good; something that had definitely been lacking when I worked at Merlotte's trying to save money to go to the Police Academy.

"Yeah, Mike, they're ready for you to move the body," I told him instead of answering his question. Turning, I walked to the side of the apartment house for some privacy and whipped my cell phone out. I called Lieutenant Whitley and updated him on what was going on with the case.

"Have you viewed the tapes, yet?" he asked after I explained everything that we had found.

"Not yet. The Sheriff's Department has them."

"Once you guys are done there, I want Alcide to go view them. Get Diego to come back to Shreveport so he can begin processing the evidence. I think you should go to your grandmother's house and see if you can glean any information about this new Vampire living across the cemetery from her. Do you feel up to staying after dark to question him if I send Rasul your way?"

"Sounds like a plan," I said. "I would stay and go over there anyway, regardless. I want to see what kind of man is living next to my grandmother and if I should be worried about it."

"Okay. Call me if you find anything out."

"I will." I hung up with Whitley and was just in time to see the stretcher being rolled out the front door with a black body bag lying on it. I heard the voices across the street pick up in fervor, obviously happy that their diligence had finally paid off. I rolled my eyes. I wondered at how delighted they would be if they had seen Maudette lying naked and strangled on her bed and how long they would have had nightmares from the experience. I think it's safe to say that Douglas Ferdinand and Harris Berkeley weren't going to be sleeping well for some time to come.

Alcide came to stand next to me and we watched in silence as Mike loaded the body up and talked to Sheriff Dearborn.

"You call the boss?" Alcide asked, glancing down at me.

I nodded. "He wants you to go take a look at the tapes. He wants me to scout out the Vampire living across the way from my grandmother. He's gonna send Rasul over so I don't have to go alone."

"I would go with you, but you know how Vampires are about talking around Weres. If this guy is guilty of anything, it's better if you have Rasul with you." Alcide said, his eyes tracking Sheriff Dearborn as he walked over to us. Mike got into his van and began to pull away.

"Mike is gonna try to have the autopsy results by tomorrow evening, at the latest. He's gonna start today, but he is having a little get together later, so he'll continue the rest tomorrow. You guys get everything you needed?" Sheriff Dearborn asked, looking between Alcide and me.

"Diego is going to stay for awhile longer, make sure that he got everything. If you don't mind, could I catch a ride with one of you over to the Department? I would like to view the tapes with you, if that is okay?" Alcide asked smoothly.

"Sure, sure, that's just fine. Where are you going, Sookie?" Sheriff Dearborn asked me.

I pulled my sunglasses back on and pulled my keys out of my pocket. "I'm going to my Gran's house. I need to talk to her about a few things. Our Lieutenant is sending over our Vampire contact tonight, he is going to escort me over to question the new resident at the Old Compton Estate."

Sheriff Dearborn's eyes bugged slightly. "You have Vampires working for ya?"

"Yes, they are quite valuable to us. They are a guide and help in the arrests of Vampires who feel they are above the law," I answered, looking over at Alcide. "Did you wanna ride back with Diego or did you want to wait for me? I don't know how long I'll be."

"I'll ride back with Diego. He was gonna stop by the Sheriff's Department anyway before heading back to Shreveport." Alcide said, shading his eyes with his hand.

"Okay, call me if you find anything on the tapes. See ya, Sheriff Dearborn."

Jumping into my car, I turned the AC on full blast and headed out. Time to go see Gran about a Vampire.

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><p><strong>Well, what you guys think? Sookie make a bad ass detective or what? This will be confident, strong and don't mess with me, Sookie. But of course, once Eric enters the story, he is gonna mess with her, shake her up and break down those walls. :P Don't you love it? Reviews=love.<strong>


	3. Blood Is Thicker Than Water

**Well, many thanks to the response this story is generating. The reviews, alerts and the favorite story clicks are making my day. I'm glad you guys love my Sookie in this story. I want her to be strong, independent and tough, but still keep her original softness that makes her the real Sookie. Just to make sure there isn't any confusion: In my story, the Vamps came out of the coffin two years ago. Sookie has been a Detective for two years now. More information about the Vampires will be answered in this chap and in the ones to come. I don't want to lay a whole detail bomb on you guys, just in short spurts as the issues cross Sookie's mind. **

**Tons of thanks to my beta, 2Tcup-Humans for her amazing work. Now, on with Interrogation of a Vampire...:P**

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><p>The house that my Gran lived in was over a hundred and fifty years old, having been built by the original Stackhouses back in the 1850's. It started out as a single story home but as the years passed, the house had expanded to hold the growing family. It has been passed down from one generation to the next. This place has been my home for as long as I can remember, even before my parents died in a flash flood resulting in Jason and me coming to live with Gran. And as much as I wanted her to come live with me, I could understand Gran's reluctance to leave the Stackhouse homestead behind; there was just so much history here, too many memories.<p>

Pulling up now in front of the two story white washed house with the wide front porch, I couldn't help the first real smile of the day that broke out on my face as I saw my Gran knee deep in her garden with her iron trowel in hand. I saw her head peek out of the bushes and as she spied my car, she stood up and waved at me, smiling widely.

Getting out of the car, I practically ran over to my grandmother and welcomed the comfort of her arms as they wrapped around me. Considering what I had seen today, I really did need the hug and felt better for it.

"Landsakes, Sookie, is everything okay? Did something happen?" Gran's voice squeaked as I squeezed her a little too hard.

Pulling away quickly, I looked into the brown eyes I knew so well and blurted, "Maudette Pickens was murdered."

Gran patted my back sympathetically and nodded wisely. "I know, honey. Everlee already called me this morning and told me all about it. How did you find out?"

I laughed sardonically. "I'm working her case."

Gran's eyes widened. Then she cackled with glee. "Dearborn called for help, did he? Why am I not surprised? Bud and Andy couldn't find the light switch in a lit room. I think it's wonderful that you and Alcide are on this case. You're good at your job, Sookie. Hopefully Maudette can find some peace knowing that you will bring her murderer to justice."

"Alcide and I will do our best," I said modestly, blushing slightly from her praise.

"How is Alcide doing? Haven't seen that boy in ages," Gran asked, taking her gardening gloves off.

"He's doing good. He's at the Sheriff's department right now, going over some of the evidence," I said, hooking my arm through Gran's as we walked slowly over to the porch.

Shortly after Alcide and I partnered up, I had introduced him to Gran. She'd been curious about him, and to put it lightly, was sold the instant she met him and became quite determined for Alcide and I to get together as a couple. I found Alcide extremely attractive, but at the time he was still hung up on the ex-girlfriend that he left behind in his hometown of Jackson, Mississippi before transferring to Shreveport. I didn't want to play second fiddle to anyone, and besides, it wouldn't do to mix business with pleasure. I was content with the way things were between Alcide and I, the friendship we'd forged overshadowed any regret that I may have had in not pursuing a relationship with him.

I know Gran was worried about my nonexistent love life. She wanted me to find my true love and settle down, to have a family. I yearned for those things as well, so much in fact that the ache I felt at times almost overwhelmed me. But of course, dating was close to impossible for someone like me. I began dating after I turned eighteen, and as much as I wanted to stay out of my date's head, the night always ended in disaster. People say ignorance is bliss, but when you have the ability to read the minds of those around you, being oblivious is just not possible when your date is thinking about giving you a hot beef injection and wondering if your breasts are real. And that wasn't even the worst of it!

I'm not foolish enough to think that men's thoughts are as clean as a priest s sheets, but I can't help but be turned off by some of the things I have heard, and have sworn off dating since then. And since I don't date, that means no sex, and no sex means that I'm still as innocent as some of the local high school girls wish they could be. Instead of looking for love, I looked for a career that would work for me and threw myself in head first and became a workaholic. At twenty six years old, I was successful at work, but not so lucky in finding someone I could love.

"You going to stay, Sookie? I missed you this weekend. You could call Alcide and see if he wants to come over. I made some smothered pork chops and cherry cobbler earlier," Gran said as she led the way into the house.

"Yeah, I missed you, too. But you know that I like to stay close to Shreveport when I'm on call over the weekends, just in case." I inhaled deeply as I followed Gran into the kitchen, my mouth watering from the smell of good old Southern home cooking. "And yes, I'll stay and give Alcide a call and ask if he wants to join us. But my main reason for coming over today is to ask you about your new neighbor."

I noticed Gran paused slightly as she reached over the sink to remove the freshly made cherry cobbler from the windowsill. After placing the cooled dessert on the counter, Gran turned and looked at me, wiping her hands on a dish towel. "You mean the gentleman who purchased the Old Compton Estate?"

"Yes." I almost held my breath.

Gran smiled excitedly. "Oh, Sookie, I know I should have told you this when I talked to you on the phone Friday, but I didn't want you to worry. My new neighbor is a Vampire!"

"I know. Andy told me," I sighed, sitting down at the table as Gran scowled at me.

"Why am I not surprised that that boy can't keep his mouth shut? I know what you're going to say, Sookie, and I already told you, I'm staying here." Gran sat down across from me and folded her arms over her chest, a gesture I repeated quite often.

Standing, I went to the refrigerator and pulled out the pitcher of peach iced tea that was sitting on the top shelf. After pouring us both a glass and taking a sip, I said, "Gran, I know we have already had this discussion countless times, and I respect your wishes. That doesn't mean that I'm not going to worry any less. What can you tell me about him?"

Gran accepted the iced tea from me as I sat down across from her. "Well, I noticed a moving van last week driving toward the Compton house, so I got curious and walked over there. I saw that the "For Sale" sign was taken down, so I brought over some of my snickerdoodle cookies and a note welcoming whoever moved in to Bon Temps. Imagine my surprise when the doorbell rang later that night and I found a handsome, young man standing on my porch. Said his name was William Compton and that he wanted to thank me for my gracious welcome to the neighborhood."

"Did you invite him?" I asked.

"Yes, of course I did, Sookie. What kind of hostess would I be if I'd left him standing on the porch? We sat in the living room and when I asked him if he enjoyed the cookies, he told me that he couldn't eat them because he was a Vampire. To be honest I was a bit shocked by his declaration, but he was such a gentleman with impeccable manners. He explained that he was the original owner of the house and decided to come back to his roots since old man Compton died. And guess what? He was a Confederate soldier during the Civil War! I got him to agree to come meet with the D.O.G.D next week."

D.O.G.D was short for Descendants of the Glorious Dead. Gran and several other inhabitants of Bon Temps belonged to this group who met weekly to indulge their love of history and even scheduled field trips to visit historical sites or graveyards. William Compton didn't know it yet, but he'd just made Gran's year by showing up and agreeing to speak with the Descendants to talk about his glory days fighting for the South.

"Why the interest in Mr. Compton, Sookie?" Gran asked curiously, leaning forward on the table.

"Well, suffice it to say that there were some curious markings on Maudette's body and I feel the need to speak with Mr. Compton and get his professional opinion on the matter," I said, not wanting to give away too much information. Gran loved gossip just as much as anyone else and I didn't need the details of the case all over Bon Temps by morning. It's not that I didn't trust Gran; but if she told Everlee, she would tell Mrs. Fortenberry and it would just continue like a wild fire out of control.

"You'll like him, Sookie. He is the epitome of what a Southern man used to be; he's educated, extremely handsome and very attentive." Oh boy. Gran was setting her sights on someone else now to fix me up with. I needed to tread carefully here.

"I'm only interested in what information he may have, Gran. Did you rescind his invitation after he left?"

"Why would I rescind his invitation?" she asked.

"Gran, Vampires need to be invited inside to gain entrance into a private residence. It would make me feel a whole lot better if you rescind his invitation right now," I pleaded.

"But, Sookie-"

"Gran, please," I cut her off, reaching across the table for her hand. "You really don't know what kind of man this Vampire is, and just because he passes himself off as a Southern gentleman doesn't mean that he is one. He can come into this house anytime he pleases, whether you're here or not and I don't think you want to wake up in the middle of the night with Mr. Compton standing over your bed. Please take his invitation back."

Gran stared at me hard, taking in my furrowed brow and hearing the worry in my voice. "I rescind William Compton's invitation into my home."

I closed my eyes gratefully, Gran's wellbeing all that mattered to me. After what I see everyday, protecting my grandmother from the evils of the world was of the utmost importance.

"Thank you," I said softly. "Well, how about I call Alcide and then I'll help you with the rest of dinner?"

"Sure, Honey," Gran said, patting my hand reassuringly.

Standing up, I excused myself and went into the living room to call Alcide. Sitting down on the flowered antique couch, I dialed Alcide's number and glanced around the room as I waited for him to pick up. Pictures of my family looked back at me from the mantle over the fireplace; Gran and Grandpa Mitchell, Mom and Dad, Aunt Linda and my cousin Hadley and my brother Jason. I felt a pang in my chest at the thought that three fourths of my family were dead and gone. Hadley had run away nine years ago to never be heard from again and for all I knew she could be dead as well. I had tried to find her, but her paper trail went cold five years ago and the Private Investigator I'd hired came up with nothing, telling me it was like Hadley had fallen off the face of the earth. Gran and Jason were all I had left.

"Hey, Sookie." Alcide's gravely voice jerked me out of my reverie.

"Hey, any news?"

"Well, the coroner was nice enough to confirm that Maudette died around three thirty this morning and that she was still in possession of all her blood before bolting out the door for a party that was happening later this evening. The guy is weird. I get a bad vibe from him," Alcide replied.

I sank back into the sofa cushions, tucking a piece of stray hair behind my ear. "Yeah, he's always been a bit off. You get anything off the tapes?"

Alcide was quiet for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Um, well, we have gotten through three of them. According to the date and time on the tape that was in the camera, Maudette did have company last night. Only problem is that the guy never showed his face. He knew where the camera was and blocked the lens with a well placed throw of his shirt."

"Was there audio?" I asked.

"Yeah, and as far as I could tell, the sex happened in the living room. Nothing unusual about the noises that would indicate foul play. The guy then took his shirt off the camera after they were finished and left an hour later."

"What time did he leave?"

"Around one o'clock in the morning. Now, here is the interesting part. Maudette turned the camera off and then there was a time jump to two hours later. The footage showed her going to the door and letting someone in, then the tape goes black. Either someone deleted the rest of what was filmed or the battery went dead," Alcide explained, sounding frustrated.

"Hmmm," I murmured. "Well, from the amount of tapes found I would say that Maudette was really into her amateur porn career. I don't think she would ever let that battery run low and miss the chance to film any action that went down in that living room. I think the killer probably erased the footage. You guys dust the camera for prints?"

"Sure did. Diego is here now and found two different types of fingerprints on the camera. He is running one of them through the system now and hoping to find a hit. The other print belonged to Maudette."

"The first guy that was there. Did he have any noticeable markings or tattoos on his body?" I asked, standing up and going over to the window, pulling the sheer curtain away. A vehicle was driving toward the house and I saw a black pickup truck coming down the road. Looks like Jason was coming to dinner, as well.

"You mean, before he suavely covered up the camera to hide his identity? No, none that I could see, and I even slowed it down frame by frame hoping to get a glimpse of his face. Sookie, there is something else you should know."

The intensity in Alcide's voice made my heart beat faster. "What?" I whispered.

"The second tape we viewed, it was dated from last week. Your brother, Jason, he was on it."

My heart actually skipped a beat. At that moment, I could hear the back door to the kitchen opening and Jason's deep baritone greeting Gran.

"Are you sure it was him?" I asked, my voice hushed.

"Yes. I've only met him once, but I'd know him anywhere. Even Detective Bellefleur and Sheriff Dearborn said it was him."

"Oh god. And on the third tape, is he on there too?" I asked, sitting back down on the sofa. My legs felt weak all of a sudden.

"No, in fact, the man on the third tape is a Vampire."

That perked me up. I sat up straight. "Really? What is the date?"

"Four days ago. Interesting looking guy. Bald, quite large and a tattoo that covered the whole back and the lower part of his skull. He knew that he was being filmed. He was smiling real purty for the camera the whole time while him and Maudette were doing some freaky shit. And guess what they used?"

"A rope?" I asked, my gut instinct taking over.

"Bingo. We need to find this Vampire. Describe him to Rasul, hopefully he can peg him and give us a name. I think he is the one responsible for the fang marks on Maudette's inner thigh."

"Yeah," I responded, worry for my brother gnawing at my insides. From the moment my brother hit puberty, he'd been a chick magnet and quite the ladies man. I don't know why I was surprised that Jason had been with Maudette, since judging by the amount of tapes found she must have done half of Bon Temps. But I was surprised; Maudette was not someone Jason would have usually gone after. Jason never had a problem finding someone to spend quality time with, so I found the pairing odd.

"You okay?" Alcide asked, listening to my breathing.

"I'm...worried. If there are more tapes of them together, you know what is going to happen," I said softly.

"I know. And if it comes to that, I'll question him for you. But then, the boss may have you off the case by that point since you are personally invested," Alcide answered just as quietly.

"I was going to ask if you wanted to come over for dinner, but I need you to do me a favor."

"You don't even need to ask, Sookie. I'll stay. And besides, I already ate three greaseburgers and some heart clogging fries. I'm all set."

I smiled gratefully, the appreciation I had for my partner at that moment knowing no bounds. "Thank you, Alcide. I'll save you a piece of cobbler."

"Deal. You be careful when you go see that Vampire, okay. Wait for Rasul. I know how impatient you get and think you can handle it all by your lonesome, but you re not Super Sookie. Promise me you'll wait," Alcide demanded.

"Yes, Dad, I'll wait for Rasul," I sighed.

"That's my good girl."

Hanging up with Alcide, I took a deep breath before entering the kitchen. Jason was sitting at the table with a beer in hand talking to Gran while she stood at the counter smashing boiled potatoes and adding sour cream to the mix. They were talking about Maudette's murder.

"Hey, Sook. Gran told me that you're on Maudette's case. It's weird, ain't it? Investigating the death of the girl that you used to go to High School with," Jason greeted me, taking a swig of beer.

What I found weird was that my brother was completely unaffected by the death of the woman who up to at least a week ago, he was having sex with.

Going over to the counter and joining Gran, I grabbed a spatula and started piling the pork chops onto a serving platter. Over the years I had perfected my poker face, a necessity that was a must upon hearing disturbing thoughts that would otherwise shock people. I never revealed anything upon my countenance, but at the present moment, I found it hard to keep the worry and anger I had at my brother's philandering ways off of my face.

Walking over to the table, I put the pork chops in the middle of the table and looked at my brother. Eyes the same blue as my own stared back at me, not a hint of guilt or remorse reflected in them. "It's a little strange, but I can handle it."

"I don't know how you do it, Sook. I would have nightmares from the stuff you see everyday," Jason said, his face lighting up as Gran put the mashed potatoes and biscuits on the table.

Truth be told, I did have nightmares. There were times where I couldn't even sleep at night. When I came home in the evening, I tried to leave work at the door, so to speak. All the specifics of a case, the things I had seen or heard, I tried to separate it from my home life so I could find a peace of mind and relax. It helped when I could draw a line in the sand, but that didn't always hold true when I went to sleep. On those nights when the victims of my past cases wanted to haunt me, I ended up staying awake half the night baking muffins or cookies to exorcise the ghosts from my mind.

"It's not an easy job," I said solemnly, accepting the biscuit that Gran put on my plate.

"Is it true that Maudette had Vampire bites on her?" Jason asked, and I paused with my arm halfway to my plate, a spoonful of potatoes in my hand.

"Where did you here that?" I asked suspiciously, sincerely hoping that the case secrets weren't already all over Bon Temps.

"Oh, Mike Spencer was picking up a keg at Merlotte's before I came here. I had a feeling that Maudette was a fangbanger," Jason said, shoveling food into his mouth. Great. Someone would need to speak with Mike Spencer about keeping his mouth shut.

"A fang what?" Gran asked, taking a sip of her iced tea.

"A fangbanger is the new term given for males or females who like to hang around Vampires in the hopes of being bitten or turned into a Vampire," I explained, looking at Jason. "And why did you have a feeling Maudette was one?"

Jason paled slightly at the serious expression on my face, and swallowed his food, hard. "I...uh...it's just something I heard, that's all. She went to that new Vampire bar a lot."

"Fangtasia?" I asked. Fangtasia had just opened six months ago on New Year's Eve, calling itself the Premiere Vampire Bar in Shreveport. Thankfully, the Police Department haven't had any problems with the place yet, due to the owner running the place with an iron fist. I had yet to see the place for myself, but I was curious what a Vampire Bar looked like and what it exactly entailed.

"Yeah, that's it. Dawn told me about it," Jason said.

"You're seeing Dawn, again?" Dawn Green was a waitress at Merlotte's and had started around the same time I did when I worked there. Jason and Dawn had a tumultuous on again/off again relationship, both enjoying the art of tormenting one another.

"We just started back up recently," he said, smirking slightly.

Gran asked Jason about his work and he told us about how his road crew was going to start laying down new tar on some of the more beat up streets. Jason was the supervisor for the Renard Parish road crew, a fact he was quite proud of. I only half listened to the conversation, deep in thought about Maudette.

Presuming that she was bitten by the Mystery Vampire on tape three four days ago, that meant the bite marks were not there when Jason was with Maudette. Was the rumor mill really at work here and Jason heard it through the grapevine, or had he seen the markings himself? Was this Maudette's first time with a Vampire, or was she experienced in entertaining them?

After dinner was done, I took my barely touched food and wrapped it in foil to take home with me. I had lost my appetite somewhere between learning Jason starred in Maudette's porn films and that Mike Spencer was leaking confidential information about a murder to the citizens of Bon Temps.

"I'll let you kids clean up. Jeopardy is on," Gran bustled out of the kitchen and headed straight for the living room, never missing her favorite game show.

"You okay, Sook? You were mighty quiet during supper," Jason asked me as I ran a dirty plate under the stream of water from the faucet.

Glancing at my big brother, I was torn between wanting to hug him and/or slapping some sense into him. Jason was almost thirty years old, but still acted like a hormonal teenage boy. Six inches taller than my own five foot four, he looked down at me, the picture of brotherly concern. I told myself what I was about to do was because I loved him just as much as he loved me.

"I'm hanging in there. I'm just worried about you," I replied, putting the plate down and turning the water off.

"You're concerned about me? Why?"

I turned and grasped his hands, so I could hear his thoughts better. "We found the tapes, Jason. You know which ones I'm talking about. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Jason's eyes went wide and I was bombarded with his panicked thoughts. Oh shit! Maudette really did film us. Oh my god, if the police have the tapes, they might think I killed her. I was only with her those few times. I haven't even seen her in over a week. Oh god, Sookie! Sookie, you're reading my mind, aren't you? "Sookie, I didn't do anything, I swear! Please, you gotta believe me!"

Closing my eyes, I blew out a breathe of relief at the honest stream of thoughts I'd heard from Jason. Looking up at him, I reached a hand up and patted his cheek like Gran did when she comforted me. "I believe you. Do you have an alibi for last night?"

He nodded vigorously. "I was with Dawn all night."

"She can confirm this?" I asked.

"She sure can," Jason was already pulling his phone out. I stopped him from dialing Dawn's number. He looked at me, confused.

"I'm just asking for myself. It's not like I'm going to haul you in for questioning, Jason. There are a lot tapes to go through, and God only knows how many men Maudette has slept with and recorded. I just want to prepare you for the likely hood that you are going to be called in either by Andy or Sheriff Dearborn and be questioned about your relationship with Maudette."

"You couldn't do it?" Jason asked, sitting down heavily at the table.

"No, because I'm your sister. I'm surprised my Lieutenant hasn't called me yet to tell me I'm no longer on the case. Since I'm related to you, I might be pulled off of the investigation because I wouldn't be able to work it objectively." I suppose Alcide had yet to tell Whitley that my brother was on one of the tapes.

"What am I gonna do, Sook?" Jason looked so forlorn.

I squatted down in front of him, shaking my head. "You need to stop going down this path you've been on. It's not doing you any good, Jason, can't you see that? These small interludes of pleasure is going to land you in the hot seat one day, either with the cops or at the end of a double barrel shotgun from a jealous husband or boyfriend. It's time to grow up, Jason."

My brother glanced out the window, pursing his lips. No one liked to have their flaws pointed out to them, even when they knew what they were. I took his hand in mine and squeezed. "I know you can change. But the real question is, do you want too?"

"Of course I do. But what if I don't know how?" he asked, looking back at me.

"You know how. Why don't you really try this time to make your relationship with Dawn work? That could be a step in the right direction," I said. While I had been friendly enough to Dawn when I'd worked with her at Merlotte's, she was not really the type of person I would ever call a friend. Dawn was two faced, smiling and sweet in your face, but once the back was turned you would have to watch for the knife that would try to plummet into your back. I had always perceived her as someone who wanted to be taken care of, to find a guy with money that would sweep her off her feet. I don't know if she thought the Stackhouse family had a secret fortune stashed away somewhere, but I was curious why she kept coming back to my brother.

"You're right," Jason said, looking inspired. "I'm gonna do my best to make it with Dawn, just you wait and see, Sookie. You're gonna be so proud of me."

I smiled at him, encouragingly. At times like these, I sometimes felt like our roles were reversed; that I was the big sister and he was the little brother. But in the end, what did it matter? Families should have each others backs since blood was thicker than water.

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><p>Sitting on the couch next to Gran, we were watching an antique traveling show rerun when I heard a car coming down the road. Jason had left an hour before, so unless he'd forgotten something, that meant Rasul had finally arrived. Standing, I glimpsed out the window and saw the headlights of a black car coming to a stop next to my Grand Am.<p>

"Rasul's here," I said to Gran, heading toward the door.

"Oh, this is exciting," Gran said breathlessly, following after me. I had explained to her after Jason left that Rasul was my Vampire contact with the Police Department and that he would be escorting me over to speak with Mr. Compton. Gran was beside herself with meeting another Vampire, and I feared she may grill Rasul about coming to a D.O.G.D meeting.

Opening the front door, I smiled when I saw Rasul waiting for me on the porch. Vampires guarded their life secrets viciously, and while I didn't know everything about Rasul, I did know that he was trustworthy and I enjoyed his wit and humor.

"Hello, Sookie. This must be your grandmother, yes? It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," Rasul said, his words still carrying the hint of an accent from his Middle Eastern upbringing. He bowed his head toward Gran, which was the standard Vampire greeting. I knew from experience that they weren't big on touching anyone, except maybe to feed. And to do other things._ Okay, mind out of the gutter, Sookie._

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Rasul. Sookie told me that you two have some business to attend too. I don't want to keep you. I just really wanted to meet you. You're the second Vampire I've met this week!" Gran said enthusiastically.

Rasul's dark brown eyes moved to me briefly before settling back on Gran. "The pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Stackhouse. Sookie and I do have to go meet with your new neighbor, but perhaps we can visit another time, if that pleases you?"

Gran smiled widely, giving a glimpse of the beauty she had once possessed. "That would do me just fine, Mr. Rasul. Now, if you'll excuse this old lady, I think it's time to go to bed. Sookie, you drive home safely. I know you're tired and I worry when you have to drive so far back to Shreveport."

I hugged Gran and kissed her cheek. "I promise to drive safely. Don't worry. I love you."

"Love you too, Honey," Gran said, opening the front door. "Good Evening, Mr. Rasul."

Rasul bowed once again and when Gran was ensconced inside the house, we both began to walk in the direction of the Compton Estate. It was quicker to cut through the cemetery, and I used the time to question Rasul.

"How have you been, Rasul?"

The lamps in the cemetery were solar powered, and the dim glow lit the way as we walked along the path between the tombstones. "I have been well, thank you. Whitley told me that the deceased was bitten by a Vampire, but the marks were several days old. Is there anything else you can tell me?"

"This Vampire we're going to see just moved in at the end of last week. My Gran met him and said that he is quite the gentleman, but I'll reserve judgment until after our meeting with him. Have you ever heard of a William Compton?"

Rasul was quiet for a moment. "No, never heard of him. Anything else?"

"Alcide is viewing the tapes found in Maudette's place. There was a Vampire on the third tape he viewed. Alcide said he was large, bald and had a tattoo that covered his entire back and the bottom half of his neck. Ring any bells?"

Rasul shook his head, his face not giving away a trace of emotion. "This displeases me that there are new Vampires in the area that are not making themselves known to my Master."

I glanced at him furtively as he walked beside me, still unsure of exactly who Rasul answered too. As much as I would like to pull the name of Rasul's Vampire boss from his head, that was something I just couldn't do. Where I had to have shields in place around normal people and even Alcide at times, Vampires were nothing but a large, floating void. I suppose it had something to do with the fact that Vampires were animated corpses and they had no brain activity, but for whatever reason, I just couldn't hear their thoughts and I found solace in the silence it gave me. But as much as I enjoyed the quiet, the information that was withheld and not given, like Rasul's boss's name, drove me nuts.

Having joined the Police Department a year ago, the help Rasul gave us was invaluable. He never gave away too much information about his own kind, just enough to let us know exactly who we might be dealing with. If and when a Vampire was suspected in a case, Rasul led a team of Vampires, almost like a S.W.A.T unit, to detain the guilty party responsible for the crime.

A law had been passed shortly after the Vampires had come out that if any were involved in committing atrocities against humans, justice would be dispensed by the local Vampire authority for their crimes. The Police Department did not know who that authority was, so Rasul was the middle man, transferring the guilty parties into the hands of the Vampire in charge.

People had been afraid at first that the laws were not being upheld, that they were just empty promises. But then a disturbing tape of a Vampire bound and tortured with silver had surfaced on the internet and the public had gotten a taste of what Vampire justice looked like. The only thing they asked was that the Police Department view offences against Vampires just as seriously as they did with crimes committed against human beings. It was agreed upon in no official terms that the Vampires would punish their own as long as the human populace respected the principle to do the same.

Breaking through the tree line that separated the cemetery from the Compton property line, the old plantation house came into view. From what Gran told me, this house had been built around the same time that the farmhouse was. The closer we came, I could see by the spare amount of moonlight that the house was going to need a lot of work. The place hadn't been taken care of by the last owner, and years of negligence would probably cost thousands in renovation costs.

"Remember, if he makes a move, I will claim you." Rasul spoke softly as we walked by a black Buick that was parked in front of the plantation house.

I nodded, having done this with him before. Vampires were extremely possessive, and when I'd first met him Rasul told me that I was quite attractive, more so then he had ever seen in a very long time. While every woman wants to hear a complement like that, Rasul had sounded quite dire and when I asked him what was wrong, he had said in no uncertain terms that I was Vampire Bait. He had gone on to explain that if I caught the eyes of other Vampires, I might find myself in trouble since no one has "claimed" me yet. So, whenever we were around other Vampires, I unofficially became Rasul's property. He did it to keep me safe, and I appreciated that.

Coming to the door, I stood behind Rasul as he used the knocker. A moment later, the door slowly opened and I saw a white face float out of the darkness of the house, almost like a ghost. A man emerged, dressed completely in black. "Can I help you?" The man asked. Gran was right. He had a very strong, Southern accent.

Rasul took a step forward. "I am Rasul. This is Sookie Stackhouse. We are in the employ of the Shreveport Police Department. Are you William Compton? We have a few questions we need to ask you."

The man stood still for a moment, then he stepped to the side, gesturing with his hand. "Yes, I am William Compton. But please, do call me Bill."

Rasul stepped over the threshold and as I followed, I looked up into the face of William "Bill" Compton. From what I could see, the Vampire had dark brown hair and eyes, with sideburns that were definitely outdated. I suppose he was good looking, but his eyes were so cold, not a hint of warmth in them. They scanned my face quickly.

The lighting in the house was quite dim, and what looked to be candle sconces were mounted on the walls. It looked like there was no electricity. Yeah, this place needed massive work.

Closing the door behind us, Bill led us into the living room area where there were two sets of dilapidated couches and a worn throw rug. He sat down on one sofa and motioned for us to sit on the other. I preferred to stand, and so did Rasul.

"So, what can I do for you?" Bill asked politely, staring straight at me.

Time to speak up. "Mr. Compton, a woman was found dead today in her apartment. Do you recognize the name Maudette Pickens?" I asked, sliding my notepad out.

He stared at me blankly. "Why would I know the name? And what does a dead woman being found have to do with me?"

"Well, considering that you just moved to town not even a week ago, it doesn't look too good when a woman is found dead with Vampire bite marks on her thighs," I said evenly, lifting an eyebrow at him.

"Are you insinuating that I had something to do with her death?" he scoffed.

"No, but I would like to know your whereabouts last night at around three thirty in the morning," I asked.

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "I was here last night. I have been trying to set up my household and get an electrician out here. As you can see, I don't even have electricity."

"I do see that. And that makes me curious Mr. Compton. Of all the Vampire-centric places in the world, especially here in Louisiana, why come here to lil' old Bon Temps?" I drawled. Rasul took a step closer to me.

"This was my home when I was still a human. I am trying to mainstream now. I would like to be able to return to my roots after having to stay away for so long," he explained. Mainstreaming was the term given to Vampires who wished to live among humans like equals, drinking only bottled synthetic blood that inspired the Vampires to go public with their existence.

As I stared at the Vampire on the couch, I felt a tickle inside my mind. I knew the sensation from when Rasul had tried to glamour me and failed, and I was instantly offended that Mr. Compton was trying to influence me. Rasul sensed this and I felt his arm go around my waist like an iron band, pulling me close to his body.

"She is mine," Rasul hissed over my shoulder, and Bill looked disconcerted that I didn't fall under his control. His expression hardened and he nodded in deference to Rasul's claim on me. Letting out the breath I didn't realize I was holding, I didn't know what to think of Mr. Compton. One thing was for sure though; Vampire or not, he was certainly no gentleman. The arm that held me slowly let go, but Rasul didn't step away from me.

"I apologize, Ms. Stackhouse," Bill murmured, standing up.

"It's Detective Stackhouse. I have no further questions, but if I do, I know where to find you." I stepped away from Rasul, sensing that he wanted to speak with William Compton alone. I was just about to leave the living room when I turned around. "Oh, and one more thing. Stay away from my Grandmother. I know you agreed to speak at her Descendants meeting next week, but I don't think that is a good idea."

With that, I turned and left the house. Taking several steps away from the house, I looked up at the sky and breathed deeply, a bit freaked out. I have only met a handful of Vampires, but none of them had tried to glamour me except Rasul. I found it unsettling that the Vampire my Gran was singing praises for felt the need to try to influence me. What purpose would that serve? Why was he really here? I really didn't buy his "coming back to my roots" story. I thought of myself as a good judge of character, and from the five minutes spent in Mr. Compton's company, his cold eyes, overly played Southern act and the boldness of using his glamour didn't endear him to me at all.

Pulling out my smartphone, I dialed Whitley's home number. He picked up on the third ring. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's Sookie. I've met with the Vampire."

"And?"

"He's creepy, but I don't think he had anything to do with Maudette's murder. Rasul's in there with him now asking his own questions."

"Alcide told me of the Vampire on the tape. We need to try to find him."

"I gave his description to Rasul. I assume that Rasul will take that info to his boss and hopefully it will turn something up." I said, releasing my hair from its clip and sighing in delight as my hair swung down.

"Alcide told me that your brother was on one of the tapes. Sheriff Dearborn has already spoken with him and his alibi checks out. I have to tell you Sookie that if your brother was implicated in this case, I would have taken you off."

"I know. I'm just glad that he wasn't," I said quietly.

"Me too. Now, go home and get some sleep. I won't expect you early tomorrow. You need to take it easy," Whitley ordered.

I smiled. "I will. Sleep well, Boss."

Shutting my phone off, I looked up and saw Rasul coming toward me. I followed after him as he headed toward the path in the cemetery. When we were out of earshot of the house, I asked, "Well, what do you think?"

"I don't think he had anything to do with the murder, but he is hiding something. I have ordered him to check in with my Master. If he does not, he will be thrown out of this area," Rasul said, glancing at me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded. "Just pisses me off that he thinks he can try to glamour me."

"He got a surprise there when he realized he couldn't. You did well," Rasul said.

Arriving back at Gran's house, Rasul waved as he got into his black Sedan and drove off. Going into the house, I grabbed my leftovers and the cherry cobbler I had put to the side for Alcide and turned off all the lights on my way out, making sure to lock the door behind me. Jumping into my car, visions of a hot shower and my soft bed motivated me to stay awake, along with a blaring radio, all the way back to Shreveport.

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><p><strong>Well, as you can guys can see, Bill is going to be a douche right from the on set, and ain't Sookie a smart girl to realize that he is not the gentleman that he is pretending to be?<strong>

**Just a quick note, I have taken liberties with the timeline. The first SSN started in June 2004. Considering its been almost 10 years, I feel its time to bring this story more into our timeline. The start of this story is August 2011. As the story progresses, I will be bringing it more into the present time. I'm not sure how long this story is going to be, but considering how many books there are, it will be quite a few. I will be doing time jumps, I'm not in the mood to get in a rut touching on the boring things in the book, but will bring major plot themes and things I feel are important to my story into the spotlight. **

** Reviews=Love.**


	4. TGIF

**Hey guys! :) Yes, I'm back, full explanation is on my profile page. This chapter is not beta'd, and though I went through and fixed as many mistakes as I could, I'm sure they are still there. Sorry, but my old beta is just seriously busy now and has no time. I was just so excited about this chapter and wanted to get it out to you. So let's jump to it...**

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><p>Three days later found me sitting at my desk with a café latte in my left hand and a folder with Diego's forensic findings in my right. With a sigh of frustration, I tossed the file on to my desk and took a swig of my drink, relishing the taste.<p>

The rope fibers that were found on Maudette's body were nylon, and much to my disappointment, it was a common rope found in any store with a sporting goods department. I wouldn't be surprised if all the residents in Northern Louisiana had nylon ropes in their garage for some purpose or another, and not being a specialty rope, there was no way to track it back to its owner.

All of the fingerprints that Diego had lifted from the scene were Maudette's, except for one, and the fingerprint database had come up empty on finding a match. It was a surprise that Diego hadn't found more fingerprints, considering the number of men Maudette had coming and going from her place.

Diego had a good amount of skin samples from under Maudette's fingernails, but like with the semen and the pubic hair found on her body, we had nothing to run them against. Our investigation was at a standstill and it frustrated me to no end when that happened. The only thing we could run with at the moment was that the killer was a necrophiliac, as Diego had suspected, but there had never been a case of necrophilia in Bon Temps history. Pulling up all the files for the past forty years, I found that the last reported case of necrophilia had been seven years ago, and the suspect had ended up jumping to his death from a twenty story building.

It chilled my blood to think since Maudette let half the county into her bedroom, the killer might not be found.

"You are thinking way too hard for it being barely eight in the mornin'."

Glancing up, I gave a tired smile to Alcide. "Yeah, well, I've been up since before five, so it ain't so early to me."

Alcide just stared at me, shaking his head. "Why in the hell you getting up before the sun?"

"A/C is on the fritz. My apartment is like an oven," I explained, taking a careful sip of my latte.

"But that doesn't stop you from swinging by Starbucks, right?" Alcide chuckled, holding out his hand for my drink. I surrendered my caffeine with raised eyebrows.

"Never." I don't care how hot it is outside, I need my coffee.

"Good Lord, Sookie," Alcide grimaced, handing me the latte back. "Try adding a bit of milk next time."

Rolling my eyes, I watched as my partner sat down at his desk that was next to mine. We stared at each other for a long moment, our eyes slowly drawn to the file folder laying on top of my desktop calendar.

"What were you thinking about?"

Raking my fingers through my hair, I leaned back in my chair. "I just hate it when we have cases like this. What is the motive? Was she killed by a jealous lover who didn't like her promiscuous ways, or by a smart Vampire who didn't drain her to throw us off? Perhaps it was erotic asphyxiation and the guy killed her on accident during sex, only realizing what he did after he finished and fled in fear. She had to have known the guy or at least consented to his being in her apartment. So many suspects, but you know as well as I do that no judge is going to grant us a subpoena to have all those men on her videos brought in for crossmatching. The ones Sheriff Dearborn recognized had alibis and there is no real possibility of finding the others that didn't come up when we ran the mug shots. Is this a one-off or do we have to wait for another murder to pop up?"

Running out of steam and tired from a lack of sleep, I wilted in my chair. Alcide came over and knelt next to me.

"You're taking it too personally. You need to stop worrying yourself about this."

I felt the biting sting of tears behind my eyes. I swallowed around the lump in my throat. "I know I am. From all the victims we've dealt with in our time together, this is the first time its someone I know. I don't know how to deal with that. It's easy to distance yourself and stay cool with strangers, but when I close my eyes at night, I remember Maudette's smile from when we were in High School together."

"It's gonna be okay, Sook. Do you want me to talk to the boss, ask if it's okay if you're taken off the case?" Alcide asked, laying his large hand over mine that clenched around the paper cup in my lap.

My head jerked up and I straightened my spine. I did not like to be perceived as weak and emotional, and that's just what I'd shown my partner.

"No, that won't be necessary. I'm sorry I went off on a tangent like that," I answered, looking into his green eyes.

Alcide's soft smile put me at ease. "Don't you ever apologize for having a heart, Sookie. This job turns too many into unemotional zombies who have been jaded by the things they have seen and done. I feel honored to be working with the one detective who still feels things so strongly. That's one of the things I really like about you."

Feeling awkward all of a sudden, I cleared my throat and gave Alcide a watery smile. "Thanks, partner." The sound of voices coming down the hall heralded our fellow detectives arriving to start the day. Pulling my hands free from Alcide's grasp, I glanced at the file folder again.

"Any word from Rasul on the Vampire with the tattoo?" I asked, smiling at a passing colleague.

"Yeah, says his boss doesn't have any Vampires in his zone fitting that description. Says that there's been an influx lately of new Vampires in this area, that many of them are not checking in with his boss and making their presence known. His boss is none too pleased about it," Alcide stood back up, his knees cracking in protest.

Furtively looking up at him, my curiosity got the better of me. "Do you know who Rasul's boss is? He never lets a name slip. Why is it such a big secret? Aren't we all on the same team?"

Alcide's eyes sharpened, his nostrils flaring slightly. "You know why, Sookie. Our secrets, Vampires," his eyes scanned the room quickly, his voice lowering, "and other supernaturals, our secrets guard themselves. And like any supernatural, a Vampire guards those secrets viciously, and doesn't like any outsiders to know more than they should. It's enough for them that they came out of the coffin with their existence, what the public makes of their presence is no skin off their back."

Nodding, I placed my latte on the desk. I could understand the need to guard a secret. I would rather have everyone think of me as "Crazy Sookie" than to know the truth that I hid behind. People would take advantage of that gift, and the importance to keep it hidden was vital.

Inspiration struck me in that moment. "I think after work today, I'll go fishing."

"Oh?" Alcide asked, leaning against my desk and crossing his arms. "Where you going to go?"

"I was thinking the local watering hole in Bon Temps might be a good place to go."

With a wolfish grin, Alcide eyed me appreciatively. "Need any back up?"

Standing, I patted his shoulder. "Nah, I think I can handle this one on my own."

With a new sense of optimism that I hoped would pan out later, I began my work day feeling a little less troubled.

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><p>When I went fishing, it wasn't me going to the nearest reservoir with a fishing pole and tackle box, though I had been known to do a bit of that when I was younger, with Jason. Now, when I went fishing, it was throwing my mental hook out into a sea of thoughts and seeing if I could snag a lead or a clue when a case was going nowhere fast. With the gossip mill in Bon Temps going crazy for the last several days since Maudette's death, going to my former workplace seemed like a good idea to glean any relevant information. I could even get lucky and catch the killer reminiscing about his handy work.<p>

A detective commonly worked several cases at once, the severity of the crime dictating the priority level of each one. A murderer loose in a local community became priority level number one, and I always seemed to go fishing when murder cases came across my desk. My passionate nature always came to the surface when it came to bringing fugitives to justice, but nothing got my passion burning quicker than a senseless killing.

After work came to a close, I bid Alcide farewell with a promise to call him if I hit gold and headed directly home to change my clothes, not wanting to draw attention to myself by looking like Detective Sookie Stackhouse. It was a Friday night, and heading into the weekend, I wanted to be like everyone else and assume the look of someone trying to wind down after the work week.

Changing into a pair of jean shorts and a pink cotton T-shirt, I pulled my hair up into a simple ponytail and scrubbed my face clean of the make-up I had worn during the day. Grabbing my purse, I tossed my badge, a pair of handcuffs and my holstered gun inside, making sure the safety was on. Since becoming a cop, it had become simple habit of carrying a gun and my badge everywhere, even on my off time. Whether I left my piece in the glove compartment of my car or strapped on my ankle and hidden by a pair of pants, I was always ready.

Arriving in Bon Temps forty minutes later, the drive to Merlotte's Bar and Grill was one I could do in my sleep. The bar was owned by a dear friend who gave me a job when one wasn't to be found, encouraging me to better myself when the idea of taking the entrance exam to the police academy took hold.

Pulling into the parking lot, I drove around to the back and pulled into one of the spaces reserved for staff, half out of habit of when I used to work as a waitress and partly because there was nothing free in the front. Scanning the wooded area that surrounded the bar as I stepped out of my car, I used the employee entrance, pausing when a familiar male voice carried down the hall.

Smiling, I followed the sound, stopping in the open doorway and leaning against the door jamb.

"...I understand Phil, I would appreciate it if you could get an extra case of scotch and tequila to me by tomorrow. Thanks a million." The man hung up the phone on a desk pushed up against a wall cluttered with papers and receipts, his back facing the door. I watched as he ran a hand through his red-gold hair, the strands sticking straight up.

"I think it's time to get a haircut, Sam," I commented, laughing as he spun around, his eyes bulging in surprise at the sight of me standing there.

"Sookie," he lunged forward, pulling me into a bear hug. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming by?"

Wrapping my arms around Sam's solid back, I took a moment to enjoy the feeling of having a man hold me. There were times when I got really lonely, especially when I saw other couples canoodling around with each other. I was holding myself back, but if I let myself be with a normal man, the relationship would be over before it began. Holding my shields up took a bit of effort, and keeping them in place the entire time for the sanctity of a relationship would drain me beyond my mental reserves.

Pulling back, I stared into Sam's eyes.

Sam Merlotte was a handsome man, his voice tinged with his Texas upbringing. He was as tall as my brother and had a fit figure that caught many female's eyes when he walked on by. He had a great smile and his green eyes glowed with warmth and kindness. He was the perfect guy and there had always been a spark of attraction between us, but fear of ruining our friendship stopped me from pursuing something more.

The hand on my waist pulled me closer as Sam's question went unanswered. "What's wrong, Sookie?"

My gaze drifted down to his lips that were inches from mine. It would be so easy...

"SAM!"

Blushing furiously, I jumped away from Sam as though burned.

"Sam, you back here? Oh, why Sookie, I didn't see you come in," Arlene, one of Sam's long time waitresses came into the office, her red hair teased to within an inch of its life.

"Hi Arlene, how you been?" I asked politely, rubbing my wet palms on the seat of my shorts. Arlene and I had worked together shortly before I had left for the police academy, and while I loved her children to pieces, Arlene's nature always gave me pause in thinking that the friendship we shared was genuine.

"What do you want, Arlene?" Sam asked, his voice annoyed. Obviously I wasn't the only one affected by our embrace.

"Huh? Oh, the Guinness tap is about to run dry."

Raking his fingers through his hair again, Sam grunted. "I'll be right up to change the keg. Give us a moment, will ya?"

Like a hawk spotting a mouse, Arlene's blue eyes flicked between the two of us. The sick feeling in my gut told me that she was going to start spreading rumors the moment she cleared the swinging doors to the bar area.

Once she was gone, I cleared my throat and fidgeted with my purse. Trying to clear the awkwardness of the situation, I thought back to the last thing Sam said before Arlene's timely arrival. "Everything is fine, Sam. Just decided that I wanted some place familiar to unwind, that's all. Sorry I took you by surprise."

Sam stared for a moment. "How you holding up? Word is that you're working Maudette's murder. How is that going?"

"You know I can't talk about that, Sam. Suffice it to say that a murder case is never nice. I'll be glad once we catch the guy."

Sam nodded his head and together we left his office, coming up front.

Twenty minutes later, after saying hello to old co-workers and avoiding everyone's questions about the case, I sat at the bar and watched as Sam changed the beer tap. The jukebox in the corner played an old Creedence Clearwater Revival song and the sound of cue sticks hitting pool balls brought a measured calm to my overwrought mind.

"You want a gin and tonic? My treat." I smiled at Sam's offer and leaned my elbows against the walnut colored bar.

"No thanks, but I'll take an iced tea if you have one."

As dusk turned into night, Merlotte's became louder and busier. I sat at the bar and randomly dropped my shields from time to time, trying to catch any thought that could help with the investigation. The most that I gathered was that no one had any knowledge about Maudette's murder, but had plenty of opinions on how she lived her life. It was disheartening to know that the people around me didn't care one lick that she was dead, that they only enjoyed the speculation it caused to help pass the time. Like these people had any right to judge the way someone lived their life. Hypocrites, the lot of them.

I was slightly cheered from my melancholy thoughts when Jason came in with his road crew to have a round of beers. Bestowing a hug on my big brother, we chatted a bit until he became distracted when he saw Dawn flirting with some biker's that she was serving. I cringed as they entertained most of the bar after Jason confronted her and it became a shouting match with every other word said rhyming with the word suck. Sam broke it up amid catcalls and wolf whistles and told them to take their lover's quarrel outside. Some things never changed.

Shortly after ten, the bane of my days as a waitress came in with his wife, and after spotting me at the bar, I turned my back on him to save myself from any suggestive looks he might send my way.

Mack and Denise Rattray, in my humble opinion, were scum of the earth. If someone were to look up the definition of trailer park trash, a picture of the two of them would be there for all to see. Both had the look of long-term drug use, which was no surprise. Mack was missing several teeth and his skin was pockmarked and mottled. Denise's skin fared no better, her frizzy hair similar to a rat's nest and her tight dress showing off too much flesh.

Drinking the rest of my iced tea, I decided it was time to call it a night. I was beginning to get a headache from listening to everyone's thoughts and I wasn't in the mood to catch anything of what the Rattray's were thinking.

Reaching for my purse to leave a nice tip for Sam, I paused when the bar went eerily quiet. Instantly on guard, I let my shields drop as I looked around the crowded bar to find what had enthralled everyone into silence.

_Is that a...a Vampire?_

_No good bloodsuckers, they need to stay away from us decent folks..._

_Are they even allowed in here?_

_I'll take that as my cue to go home..._

My telepathy encountered a black void by the entrance of the bar, and following its presence, I was surprised and a little unnerved to see William Compton standing there.

Dressed in a blue button down and gray trousers, his otherworldly nature stood out like a wolf in sheep's clothing. The people nearest him moved away, obviously fearful that he would attack them. I glanced at Sam and saw he was gripping the edge of the bar, his knuckles white against the dark wood. Though I couldn't read his thoughts, his brain pattern was throbbing with a green aura I'd never felt before.

Turning my attention back to Compton, I watched his progress as he slowly entered the bar proper, nodding at people as he passed by, trying to put them at ease. Everyone seemed to hold their breath as he sat at a free booth, folding his hands on top of the table. The tide of people around me shifted uncomfortably, trying to reestablish the mood before the surprise appearance of a Vampire in our midst.

Minutes later, I watched as Arlene hesitantly spoke with Compton before she came scuttling toward the bar, shaking her head.

Turning my head, I met Sam's eyes before he turned his attention to the red-head. "What does he want, Arlene?"

Opening the fridge under the bar, Arlene tilted her head to the right to read the labels. "He wants one of those True Bloods, but I don't think we have anymore."

"No, the ones I ordered expired and had to be thrown out. That's all he said?" Sam asked, his voice laced with disbelief.

Glancing back into the crowd, I met Compton's brown eyes from across the room. He stared at me long and hard, and I wondered if he was entertaining the idea of trying to glamour me again since Rasul was not here to protect me from his advances. My eyes narrowed, the very thought sending anger pulsing through my body.

Deciding body language sometimes spoke louder than words, I turned back to Sam and Arlene, sure to keep the Vampire within view of the mirror that hung behind the bar, just in case.

"Well, what should I tell him, Sam? This isn't in my job description, having to serve Vampers. What if he flys into a rage because we don't have what he wants? I have kids, I can't be put in mortal danger like this!" Arlene griped, clutching her serving tablet before her like a shield.

While Compton was no doubt a jerk, the thought of him causing a blood bath due to True Blood being out of stock caused a laugh to slip from my mouth. Arlene looked at me angrily, her face slowly matching the color of her hair. "Think you can do a better job, Sookie? Why don't you go serve him, you don't really have anyone that you have to worry about if something happened to you."

The smile flirting around the edge of my mouth fell away with her unwarranted attack. Arlene had become bitter when she found out that I was leaving for the academy, her thoughts broadcasting her jealousy loud and clear that I wasn't deserving of such a chance. Years later, her view on the topic was still the same.

"Don't worry Arlene, you just keep on doing what you're doing. I'll serve and protect while you serve the beers," I replied coldly, hitting her where it hurt.

Sam interrupted Arlene's indignant gasp by shoving a glass of red Merlot into her hand. "Arlene, stop. Give this to him and explain that we are out but I will order some True Blood tomorrow. I can't very well ask the guy to leave, he isn't doing anything wrong."

"But, but its wine, he can't drink this," Arlene sputtered.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Sam sighed in irritation. "Please, just bring it to him. Trust me. It looks better if he's served something than sitting there empty-handed. I just wanna put everyone at ease." Accepting his explanation with a huff, Arlene shot me one last glare before weaving through the crowd, the glass of wine balanced on the tray above her head.

Sam and I watched as she placed the glass of wine in front of her unwanted patron who listened to her explanation with cool acceptance as he bowed his head in thanks. As Sam predicted, the uncomfortable tension that filled the room slowly receded with the affable illusion the Vampire presented.

"I'm sorry about Arlene, Sookie. You okay?"

Glancing down at my empty tea glass, I pushed away the feelings of aloneness that flared up with Arlene's cruel words. "It's what I've come to expect from her. Don't worry about me, Sam. I'm wearing my big girl pants tonight."

As Sam tried to play catch up with all the orders that poured in during Arlene's tantrum, I decided to stay since Compton's appearance in Merlotte's added fuel to everyone's fears and suspicions, and in my case, a small glimmer of hope for Maudette.

Glancing at Compton's reflection in the mirror over the bar, I studied him at length. What was he doing here? Was it simple coincidence that he came here tonight or was he following me? It was obvious that this was his first time to Merlotte's. After my visit with the Vampire the other night, I would always be wary of him. Vampires hid their emotions well, their very existence before the Great Revelation had depended on it. From the Vampires I've met, they have all shown some degree of emotion. William Compton's emotionless eyes chilled my soul. In my line of work, people with dead eyes committed unspeakable crimes. Crimes that gave one nightmares.

Closing my eyes and breathing deeply, I concentrated wholly on limiting everyone's thoughts, pushing useless gossip and speculation to the sidelines. I winced as my headache intensified, the chatter of a hundred thoughts combined with the din of the bar pushing against my focus. Determined, I pushed through and bit my lip, following a thought that came to my attention.

_...wonder if a Vampire really did kill Maudette. I cannot believe the audacity of that fanger, sitting there bold as brass. Maybe the Reverend was right and I should join the Fellowship..._

Curious, I opened my eyes and craned my neck so I could see the pool table. Four men that I wasn't familiar with played a round, two of the four chatting amiably while the other two watched. Eyeing the quiet ones, I found myself surprised that neither Alcide or myself had considered the Fellowship of the Sun. The Fellowship, or FOTS, was a church that opposed the Vampires. They hated everything about them and weren't afraid to let it show. I would have to look into the possibility of someone killing Maudette because they hated Vampires and in turn killed anyone who associated with them.

_That one is nowhere near as good-looking as the one I had the other night. Wonder if I can make it to Fangtasia tomorrow since I have the night off, maybe give that hunk another go if he's interested. Just have to figure out a way to ditch Jason, he is so clingy lately and getting on my nerves..._

I glanced at Dawn as she walked through the crowd, her brain broadcasting her thoughts loud and clear. I wasn't surprised to hear that her interest in my brother was waning, though it looked like he was fighting valiantly for their relationship. The two of them always strayed apart after a few weeks, than months later it started all over again.

Shaking my head sadly, I stopped short as I saw the Rattrays heading for the exit with Compton following close behind. Alarmed, I sat up straighter and tried to hear what they were planning and judging from the evil smirk on Mack's face, it was nothing good.

_This is gonna make us some damn good money. I just hope this one goes down easier than the Vamp from last week, I need to pay Herald back, that no good sumbitch..._

No matter how much I disliked William Compton, I could not allow him to be drained, especially by the Rattrays. My sense of honor demanded it of me. It wasn't something I could ignore, a crime was a crime, and upon my oath as an officer of the law, I would hold true to my word and protect those who cannot protect themselves, be it human or Vampire.

Hopping down from my stool, I turned too quickly and suddenly felt the front of my shirt plaster itself to my skin with someone's cold drink.

"Oh shit, oh man, Sookie, I'm so sorry! Here, let me get you some napkins," My brother's best friend, Hoyt Fortenberry, stood before me red-faced and apologetic as he tried to grab some paper tissues from the bars napkin dispenser.

Batting his hands away as he tried to embarrassingly dab at the whiskey sour he spilled all over my chest, I pushed by him in my rush to get outside and stop the Rattrays. Time was of the essence and my patience was being tested as I battled my way through the sea of bodies that got in my way.

Breaking though the crowd surrounding the bar, I spotted Sam as he carried a case of bottles from the storeroom to the front.

"Sam!" I called urgently, my voice stopping him immediately.

Placing the case of bottles down behind the bar, he turned to me. "What's wrong?"

"I need you to call Dearborn and tell him to get over here, immediately," I said, knowing that I would need the back up.

"What's going on, are you okay?" Sam asked, his eyes intense.

I shook my head. "Please, Sam, I don't have time to explain. Just call him."

Before he could say another word, I pushed past the swinging doors that led into the hall for Sam's office, the storeroom and the employee entrance. Squatting down, I tried to get my adrenaline under control as I opened my purse and pulled my gun out. The unexpected outcome of interrupting a crime in progress was always a different mindset than dealing with the aftermath. In the end, all you could do was hope that you came out of the ordeal unscathed and the criminal behind bars.

Shoving the handcuffs and my gun into the waistband of my shorts, I tossed my purse into Sam's office as I walked by. Easing the back door open, I slipped out into the humid August night. Dropping my shields completely, I reached out in search of the black void that represented Compton, hoping that he hadn't gone too far with the Rattrays. My telepathy brushed against the group, the buzz of excitement and anticipation from Mack and Denise guiding me to the far corner of Merlotte's parking where the lighting was dim and the woods provided ample cover.

Crouching low, I sidled up to the side of the Rattrays car. Peeking over the hood to get a better look at what I was up against, I grimaced at the scene before me; Mack and Denise stood in the shelter of trees with the headlights from their car brightening the area with Compton laying on the ground in front of them, his neck, hands and feet covered in silver chains. From what I could see, gallon sized milk jugs sat next to the silvered Vampire, slowly filling with blood that came from an IV line shoved haphazardly into his wrist.

"Hurry up, babe. This is taking too long. Someone could come along and see us." Mack muttered, glancing nervously into the woods.

"Shut up, Mack. No one ever comes over to this part of the parking lot. He's almost done, anyway. You wanna stake him or leave him for the sun?" Denise asked, her high-pitched voice grating on my ears.

Reaching for my gun, I held the weapon at the ready under my chin. Compton was running out of time and who knew how long it would take for Dearborn and Company to arrive. I would have to take this on alone until they got here and get it under control.

Caressing the cool metal of my gun and flicking the safety off, I slowly stood and backed away from the car. Concealing my gun hand in the shadows, I steeled myself for the confrontation.

"Mack and Denise Rattray, you need to step away from the Vampire, NOW," I said loudly, my voice booking no argument.

Startled, Mack and Denise whipped around, their eyes wild with shock at being caught. I knew the glare from the headlights hid my identity, only providing a silhouette of my person. Slowly stepping to the right, I revealed myself to them.

Denise scoffed. "Get the fuck out of here, you cunt! This is none of your business!"

Mack chuckled, the sound sinister, disturbing. "Aw, calm down, baby. Little Sookie Stackhouse has always held a special place in my heart. I say we take her home and play with her." He obscenely rubbed his crotch and smiled.

Breathing deeply and pushing my revulsion aside, I stood taller and reiterated. "Step away from the Vampire. You both are under arrest for violation of the laws put in place for Human/Vampire relations. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, it's up to you."

Mack's smile fell away, his thumb flicking the switch blade open which he'd hidden in his hand. "You think you can take us both on, Sookie? I'd like to see ya try."

Denise cackled in glee as Mack took a threatening step towards me. Gripping my gun, I brought my arm up and pointed the weapon at Mack. He stopped midstep, eyeing me warily.

"You sure you want to ride this train, Mack?" I asked quietly, tensing. "Drop the knife, now. We can add threatening an officer to your list of felonies for this evening."

I watched Mack closely as he slowly dropped the knife to the tarmac. "Kick it to me," I ordered, not trusting him one bit. He hesitated before aggressively kicking the switch blade in my direction, the metal scraping along the ground as it came to a rest a little ways behind me.

"Now back up, over towards those trees." I said, gesturing with my gun, following their movements cautiously as I stepped closer to Compton. Keeping my eyes on the Rattrays, I addressed the wounded Vampire. "Mr. Compton, I'm going to remove the needle from your arm, okay? But I must insist that the silver stays on, at least until the Sheriff arrives. Do you understand?" I didn't need a vengeful Vampire on the loose wanting to impart his special brand of justice on the two who had wronged him. The Rattray's needed to be in the custody of the Sheriff's department before he was released from his bonds.

"Yes." His voice was raspy, weak.

Kneeling down and keeping my gun pointed at Mack and Denise, I quickly glanced down as I pulled the needle out of Compton's arm. For the second it took me to look away, Mack tried to rush at me but stopped short when a vicious growl came from behind me. The sound made me stop as well, and with a quick look to my right, I was surprised to see a collie standing right beside me, hackles raised and teeth bared as it growled viciously at the couple across the way.

I didn't need to use my telepathy to know that Sam was standing next to me in his animal form. My heart surged with a swell of gratitude for my friend, watching my back during this ridiculous situation.

"Yer gonna regret this, Sookie. Mark my words." Mack seethed, his eyes flicking back and forth to my gun and the snarling collie.

Reaching for the handcuffs, I tossed them over to the couple. "I assume you are familiar with these, considering your track record. Denise, be a dear and cuff your hubbie for me since my hands full."

"You bitch!" Denise glowered as she knelt and snatched the restraints from the ground.

Denise awkwardly brought one of Mack's hands behind his back, the snap of the silver cuffs clicking into place. Slowly reaching for his other hand, Denise lingered too long by her husband's back pocket, and just as the warning bells went off in my head and I opened to mouth to tell her to keep her hands where I could see them, she turned around and threw something sharp in my direction. Reflex had me diving quickly to the side as the metal object sailed over my head and landed with a clatter on the pavement.

Several things happened at once; Denise turned and hightailed it into the trees as I landed roughly on my left side. Sam launched himself forward at Mack, who cursed loudly when his attempt to get at me was thwarted by the collie's teeth as they sank into the arm that didn't have the handcuff dangling from the wrist.

Having faith in Sam that he would be able to subdue Mack, I jumped to my feet and ran into the woods after Denise. Shoving my gun back into the waistband of my shorts, I dodged around trees that seemed to jump out at me from nowhere in the near black forest. The sound of my panting breath and pounding heart filled my ears as I followed Denise's panicked brain signal.

Breaking into a clearing, I saw my quarry tottering ahead of me in the moonlight as she tried to out run me in the wedges on her feet. Gaining an extra burst of speed, Denise screamed as I tackled her to the ground, soft dirt and leaves exploding up into the air from the impact of our bodies.

"I'm gonna kill you, you fucking bitch! Get off me, you whore!" Denise struggled heroically against me, trying to headbutt me as we rolled around. We were evenly matched, being around the same size, but I had several years worth of training under my belt and I used them to my advantage.

Gripping her shoulder, I slammed her front side into the ground and held her there by straddling her backside. Grabbing both of her arms, I pulled them roughly behind her and brought the forearm of the right arm high up on her back. I stretched the arm as far as it would go, causing Denise to whimper in agony and stop thrashing beneath me.

Both of us stopped moving for a moment, trying to catch our breath. My ponytail was slowly starting to come out and blonde strands hung in my face, clinging to the sweat on my forehead. I would definitely need a shower when I got home tonight.

Taking a deep breath and slowly easing off Denise, I stood up and brought her with me. She was crying piteously, her makeup running down her face. Looking behind me, I squinted into the darkness and saw the blessed lights of Merlotte's on the other side of the trees. I worried about Sam, but having made my decision when I took off after Denise, I would just have to hope that he had gotten Mack under control and was okay.

With Denise's arm still high on her back, I led her into the trees and began to talk. "Denise Rattray, you have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you do say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney. Do you understand these questions that I have asked you?"

"Yes." Denise replied after a moment. I was surprised to hear her sound so docile.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw two Sheriff cars pulling up as I walked out of the woods with Denise. Glancing quickly around, I bit back my smile of relief when I saw Sam sitting in front of Mack, who was leaning against his car holding his arm, looking catatonic. Compton still laid off to the side, untouched.

Sheriff Bud Dearborn exited the first patrol car, with Kenya Jones getting out of the one behind him. Both stopped short at the sight before them.

Bud found his voice first. "What in Sam Hill is going on here, Sookie?"

Kenya moved forward and relieved me of Denise, of which I shot her a grateful smile. My arms were beginning to tingle from holding Denise's arm in place for so long. Glancing behind me, I felt a stab of surprise when I saw that Sam was gone. Mack was muttering to himself, eyeing the spot where Sam had been.

Tugging at my shirt and grimacing at the whiskey and dirt plastered to the front, I gave Dearborn the short and sweet version of what happened. He stared at me in disbelief, almost as if I had set the whole thing up to ruin his Friday night. While I spoke, Kenya deposited Denise into the backseat of her cruiser.

"You mean to tell me that you risked your life just to save a Vampire?" Bud asked, looking over at Compton's prone form.

I gazed up at the Sheriff, frowning. "I would like to think that if we take a Vampire's well-being seriously, they might pay it forward by returning that favor when a human is in danger."

Bud opened his mouth to respond with what was no doubt a witty redneck retort, but our attention was drawn over to Mack as he began screaming when Kenya approached him. "Th-that dog, he turned into a b-bear! A bear! I could've been m-mauled!"

"Goddamn junkies," Dearborn muttered as Kenya literally lifted Mack to his feet, which was easy for the female officer considering she was built like an Amazon. Kenya sneered in disgust as the headlights from the cars revealed that Mack had pissed himself.

"Where is the dog?" she asked, grunting as she tossed Mack over the hood of his car and finished cuffing him.

Gazing off toward Merlotte's, I shrugged. "I don't know. I guess he was a stray." I didn't know that Were's could turn into more than one animal, but perhaps I was wrong. Was Sam a Werecollie? The moniker sounded strange. I would have to ask Alcide about it.

Once Mack was safely ensconced in Dearborn's car, I slowly approached Compton, only to be pulled back by Kenya. "What're you doing? Have you finally lost it, Sookie?"

Pulling my arm free, I shot her a dirty look over my shoulder. "I gave him my word that he would be released once you arrived. He is the one that was wronged here."

Kenya slowly released my arm, her brown eyes filled with concern for me. I was oddly touched that she cared so much, since she was oddly aloof with most people. I gave her a reassuring smile, understanding that both Kenya and Bud had no experience dealing with Vampires. It was only natural for them to be scared.

Crouching next to Compton, I met his dark eyes, half of his face hidden in the shadows. He returned my look emotionlessly, not even the pain from being silvered and nearly drained showing on his countenance.

"You need to keep better company, Mr. Compton." I said softly, reaching my hand out and pulling the silver chains off his ankles. "I don't think I need to remind you that if the Rattrays hadn't attacked you, the reason you followed them out here is as equally unlawful as their attempt at draining you is. Biting people is not something many want to see and it's best if it is kept behind closed doors in the privacy of your home." Vampires biting humans had become a form of public indecency, and when caught, both parties were brought up on misdemeanor charges.

Compton kept quiet as I quietly reprimanded him for his near fatal mistake. It made me curious how Mack and Denise got the drop on him in the first place. Vampires were remarkably fast and strong. It just didn't add up.

Pulling the rest of the silver from Compton's skin was painful to watch and unpleasant to smell as his flesh came away, sticking to the metal. He endured the discomfort in silence, taking an unneeded breath once he was free of the chains. I stepped away from him as he sat up, watching as he fingered the gaping wound left on his neck from the silver.

He glanced up at me and inclined his head. "I thank you for your help, Miss Stackhouse."

I nodded. "You will need to give the Sheriff a statement about what occurred." As Compton slowly stood up, I saw Sam standing in the distance, watching. "If you will excuse me, Mr. Compton."

As Kenya approached the Vampire with her notepad at the ready, I stopped by Sheriff Dearborn. "I will write a report for you. I had to draw my gun. I will try to have it to you by Monday afternoon, at the latest."

Once again, Dearborn looked at me strangely like he did the other day at Maudette's apartment. He was still having difficulty dealing with me as an equal. "Good work, Sookie."

With a last glance at Compton, I slowly walked towards Sam, tucking my hair behind my ears. My first instinct was to thank him profusely for his help with Mack, but I reined in my gratitude as I reminded myself that Sam would have to first tell me how different he really was before I could tell him that I'd already known. I would have to show how different I was, as well.

"Are you okay?" Sam took in my disheveled appearance and reached out for me.

I nodded, gratefully leaning against him as he walked with me back towards the employee entrance. "Nothing a hot shower and some bengay won't fix." Truth be told, now that the adrenaline was receding, I was beginning to feel every minute that I had spent out there with the Rattrays.

"Did you want to stay at my place, since it's getting so late? You can take a shower and I have some spare clothes you can wear," Sam offered, leading me into his office.

It was on the tip of my tongue to accept, but I knew deep down that it wasn't a good idea. Sam lived in a trailer just behind the bar, and though it was past midnight and I was dead tired, I had to refuse.

"I appreciate the offer, Sam, but I just want to go home," I bent down and picked up my purse that I'd thrown on the ground. Walking up to Sam, I gave him a hug and whispered in his ear, "Thank you, Sam. For everything."

"Anytime, Sookie," he responded, brushing some of the dirt off my face.

With one last smile, I slowly walked to my car and plopped down behind the wheel. Closing my eyes, I felt the nervous energy slowly leave my body and my hands started to shake as I rubbed my arms. Hindsight was 20/20, and thinking back to Alcide's previous offer of joining me for the evening, I wish now that I'd accepted.

Sighing loudly, I reached into my purse and pulled out my smart phone. Alcide would no doubt be asleep by now, but there was someone else who would be interested in learning about the events that happened tonight. After plugging in the headset and pulling out of Merlotte's parking lot, I hit dial.

"Sookie," Rasul's deep voice sounded in my ear after the third ring, along with a cacophony of noise. "Give me a moment."

I waited patiently as I listened to the drone of music fade in the background as a door opened and closed, surrounding Rasul in silence. "Is everything okay?"

Whenever I called Rasul this late, it was never for idle chitchat. "I just wanted to let you know that William Compton found himself on the wrong end of a needle tonight. He is lucky to still be undead."

Rasul stayed quiet and taking that as permission to continue, I told him everything, including my uneasy feelings about Compton. I'd never come right out and tell Rasul about my telepathy, but I knew he suspected. I didn't have to explain my reasons for being at the bar or how I knew Compton was in trouble as he left with the Rattrays; Rasul was smart enough to figure out the things I left unsaid.

"Sookie, you always continue to impress me. With more humans like you, the Great Revelation would have happened eons ago," That was high praise indeed, coming from a Vampire. "And while it pleases me that two drainers are out of circulation, your concern over Compton might well be something to worry over. He checked in with my Master yesterday, and while he was full of answers, they lacked conviction and credibility."

Even though I couldn't hear what Compton was thinking, it was good to know that even without the guidance of telepathy, I still had the ability to sense when someone was hiding behind a falsehood.

"That's what I was afraid of," I muttered, gripping the steering wheel as I picked up speed on the interstate.

"Stay safe, Sookie," Rasul warned me, and despite the warm air surrounding me, I felt goosebumps rise on my skin. Vampires generally only cared about their own well-being, and to have one concern himself with my safety made his warning all the more dire.

I swallowed hard. "I will, Rasul."

Feeling more unsettled than before, I bid Rasul a good night and tossed the headset onto the seat next to me. Rolling my shoulders and stretching my neck to the left, I decided I would worry about Compton in the morning. I was too tired and didn't need more fodder to give me another sleepless night.

One of Gran's favorite sayings came to mind, her shrewd voice ringing loudly over the rest of my thoughts; Worrying is like a rocking chair, Sookie, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere.

Smiling softly, I decided to take Gran's advice tonight. Pushing away all my fears and worries over the last few days, I found a bit of peace as I drove through the deep dark night.

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><p><strong>So, what do you guys think? Little bit of everything here. Don't you guys worry about Sam none, once Eric enters the pic(Chapter 6!), he will be all that Sookie sees! Please review guys, reviews help my creative juices!<strong>


	5. Unknown Curiosities

**Hello Everyone! Just a small chapter, but with some interesting tidbits. Already begun the next chapter, preparing for Mr. Northman's entrance. This chapter is not beta'd. **

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><p>"Sookie? What are you doing here? I thought you were on call this weekend?"<p>

"Hey, Gran." I gave Gran a tired smile as I climbed the steps of the back porch to join her in the mudroom, the screen door thumping shut behind me. Gran eyed me closely, her brow furrowing as she pulled me into a hug.

"Aw, honey, you look exhausted. Come on, I have some leftovers from breakfast. You're much too skinny for my taste," A near chuckle escaped my lips at her comment about my weight, but she took no notice as she grabbed my hand and pulled me into the kitchen, gently pushing me into a chair at the table. I watched her bustle around the stove as she fixed me a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, hash browns and biscuits covered in country gravy. My Gran was always one to offer comfort the southern way; high calorie food, whether you wanted to eat it or not.

Thinking about the pint of Ben and Jerry's ice cream from the night before, I eyed the food she placed before me hesitantly. Under Gran's watchful eye, I picked up my fork and dutifully took a bite of the eggs, hoping my stomach didn't rebel too badly.

"Talk to me, Sookie," Gran implored, her brown eyes concerned. "I know you can't talk about your case, but something is clearly bothering you."

Leaning back, I fiddled with my fork as it slid through the gravy. "I haven't been sleeping well, that's all," I took another bite of the eggs, followed by a sip of orange juice that Gran placed before me. "And I hate it when I'm not able to spend time with you for two weekends in a row."

Gran reached over and patted my hand. "Well, I'm glad you came. I'll call Maxine and let her know that she doesn't need to pick me up for church, since you're here. You planning on staying all day? The D.O.G.D are hosting a potluck tonight. Should be good fun."

I gave her an indulgent smile. "Of course I'll come," An unpleasant reminder caused my smile to falter. "Please tell me that William Compton isn't going to be there?"

Gran actually pouted. "He called me the other night and informed me that he would be unable to attend. I suppose you had something to do with that?"

I sat up straighter, unashamed. "Yes, I did." As she opened her mouth to retort, I held my hand up. "Please, Gran. I understand how excited you were about him coming, but trust me when I say it's better if you stay away from him. If it really is so important to you, I'll ask Rasul if he would consider coming and recounting his tale for all of you."

Gran snapped her mouth shut, her disappointment fading in light of my offer. She held her wrinkled hand out to me, a crafty gleam in her eye. Shaking my head in amusement, I took her hand as she said, "Deal." One untrustworthy Vampire swapped with one that I trusted implicitly; it was an arrangement I felt comfortable with.

Standing up, Gran called Maxine and then began to put the leftovers from breakfast in the fridge. "Did you hear about what happened to Mr. Compton? Everlee told me that the Rattrays tried to drain him in Merlotte's parking lot."

I paused with my fork halfway to my mouth. "Yes, I did hear. In fact, I'm the one that busted them."

Turning around with her tupperware container in hand, Gran looked at me incredulously. "You did what?"

After filling her in on my exciting Friday night, Gran became unusually quiet as I helped her finish cleaning up. Placing the cast iron skillet back in the cabinet, Gran surprised me when she grabbed my arms as I turned around.

"Gran?" I asked fearfully, my voice hitching in concern.

"Sookie, you have to promise me that you'll be careful. It's only natural for a grandmother to worry about her grandchildren, but with you, I do so all the time. I don't like that you put yourself in harms way so willingly. Your grandfather was the same way." She said, clasping my hands.

I smiled. "Really? I didn't know that."

Looking suddenly flustered, Gran cleared her throat and looked at the clock over the doorway leading out of the kitchen. "Oh my goodness, it's almost eleven! We better get going." Untying the white apron she had donned to protect her navy blue dress and smoothing the few wrinkles that had set in around the waist, Gran disappeared into the hallway bathroom to apply her lipstick.

Biting my lip, I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms. It was barely ten thirty. And considering that the drive to our church took about five minutes, we were hardly running late. As a cardinal rule, I never invaded the privacy of my brother and grandmother by listening to their thoughts, unless absolutely necessary. But whenever the topic of my grandfather was brought up, Gran behaved strangely and I was sorely tempted to listen in.

Mitchell Stackhouse, my grandfather, had died when a drunk driver had rammed into his car as he'd made his way home from work. I barely remembered the man since I was only three years old at the time of the accident, but I do recall the utter sadness that seemed to cling to Gran in the years that followed. I always chalked it up to her never getting over the death of Grandpa Mitchell, but the longer I thought about it, perhaps there was another reason.

I was brought out of my reverie as Gran returned to the kitchen, straightening the pearl necklace around her neck. She smiled at me, her lips a lovely dusk rose color.

"You ready, sweetheart?" she asked, reaching for her purse that sat on the counter.

"Sure," I replied, grabbing my purse as well.

On the short drive to Tabernacle Holiness Church, I watched Gran out of the corner of my eye as she quietly hummed a church hymn while looking out the window. My curiosity was getting the better of me with each minute that passed, and as I found a parking spot in front of the church, I shocked myself with the question that came from my lips.

"Gran, why don't you ever talk about Grandpa?"

In the process of opening the car door, Gran went unnaturally still. I waited for her to brush my question off but she surprised me as she turned around, her face pale. She looked like a deer caught in someone's headlights.

"Sookie, I-"

Whatever she wanted to say was cut off by the high pitched beeping that came from my purse. Clenching my jaw, I quickly unzipped my purse and rummaged for my on call pager, turning the thing off. The number for dispatch flashed prominently across the display screen. I looked helplessly at Gran, lamenting the horrible timing.

"It's okay, honey. We'll talk some other time." Gran leaned over and kissed my cheek before getting out of the car. Maxine Fortenberry spotted her immediately and together they walked toward the church.

Sighing heavily, I powered up my smart phone and called the number for dispatch. "Shreveport Police Department, what is the nature of your call?"

"This is Detective Stackhouse, I got a page." I responded, turning the key in the ignition and mentally preparing myself for the quickest route back to Shreveport once the dispatcher gave me the details.

"Yes, Detective, the Bon Temps Sheriff's Department contacted us. There has been another murder and they require assistance."

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading!<strong>


	6. He Who Searches Mind And Heart

**Hey Everyone! Whew. Finally got Chapter 6 done for you and it's HUGE. Almost 10,000 words. The reason for its enormity is that the first half of this chapter should have been with chapter 5 and the second half should be with chapter 7, but whatever. I don't think you all will mind! I promised that Eric would be coming in Chapter 6 and I'm holding true to my promise! :) I will save the rest of my blah blah blah for the end. Enjoy! This chapter is not beta'd.**

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><p>Bon Temps being the small town that it is, it took me less than ten minutes to arrive at a set of duplexes not far from where Merlotte's stood. Parking next to a blue Sedan with a red siren attached to the roof, I killed the engine and leaned over to open the glove compartment, pulling out a dogtag chain. Slipping it over my head, I clipped my badge to the string of beads, the insignia resting heavily against the white cotton dress I was wearing.<p>

Getting out of my car, the first thing I noticed was a small group of spectators standing behind the barricade the Sheriff's Department had set up. Thinking of Maudette's murder and the massive gathering it caused, there was no doubt in my mind that this crowd would grow in number once church let out.

"Hey, Sookie," a voice called.

Turning around, I watched as Kevin Pryor, a Sheriff's Deputy, approach me with a roll of police tape in his hands. Closing the car door, I stepped up on the sidewalk.

"Hey, Kevin. What happened?" I asked, spotting Andy Bellefleur striding toward us.

Kevin shook his head, grimacing. "Found another one, done in just like Maudette. Has the Vampire bite marks and everything."

"Who is it?" I asked, holding my breath.

"Dawn Green."

The air rushed out of my lungs upon hearing the name, but I had no time to recover from the shock as Andy zeroed in on me.

"Hey, Sookie. You sure got here fast," Andy said, coming to a stop in front of me.

"I was already here in Bon Temps, visiting with Gran." I was impressed that I could even speak; my mouth had gone ridiculously dry.

"What are the odds, huh?" Andy replied, squinting at me as the late morning sunshine burned brightly above us. "Right, well, the victim is Dawn Green. We got the call at ten thirty from Rene Lenier, but Sam Merlotte and JB du Rone found her. When I got here and saw that she'd been done in exactly like Maudette, I called the Shreveport station. I made sure that no one tramped around the room where the body is, I'm hoping your forensic guy has a better chance of finding something this time around."

I nodded my head as Andy briefed me and asked the first thing that came to mind once he finished speaking. "Sam found her?"

Andy turned slightly to look up at the duplex that had been sectioned off with the police tape. "Yeah, something about her not showing up for work. I'm sure you'll want to ask them your own set of questions. I have them waiting in the back yard where the shade is. Too damn hot to be standing around in the sun." Both Andy and Kevin started to walk back toward the duplex, but when Andy noticed I wasn't following in their footsteps, he paused. "You comin'?"

"I'll be right there. I need to make a phone call," I said, fingering the casing that housed my smart phone.

Once alone, I called Alcide.

"Hey," he answered, "I'm on my way. Did you get the page?"

"Yeah, I was already here in Bon Temps, visiting with Gran," I said quietly. I was sure Alcide could sense my apprehension, even over the phone. "Listen, the woman murdered was my brother's girlfriend. There's no doubt in my mind that the Lieutenant will take me off this case. You know as well as I do that the boyfriend and husband is always suspect number one in a case like this and Jason will be fingered for it, especially since his name was brought up in Maudette's murder."

Alcide was quiet for a moment. "Just sit tight, Sookie. I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

As we hung up, my mind began to process that Dawn Green was dead. I felt a pang of grief in my heart by her passing, but was more concerned with how my brother would react. Dawn was the closest thing he had ever had to a stable relationship, and in Jason's own special way, he loved her. This wasn't going to go over well.

Deciding that I better start questioning Sam and JB, I walked around the duplex and went through an open wooden gate that led into the backyard. Andy waved me over to where Sam, Rene Lenier and JB du Rone stood underneath a tree. Sam looked agitated, JB was pleasantly relaxed and Rene just smiled at me.

"Gentleman, you all know Sookie. She needs to ask you her own set of questions. I'll leave you to it." Andy said, surprising me with his civil attitude. It was a long cry from how he'd acted the last time.

"Hey, Sookie. You sure look nice today," JB said, stepping forward to give me a quick hug. I had gone to high school with JB. He was a good guy, a real sweetheart and never had any negative thoughts.

"Thanks, JB," I said, looking over at Sam. He returned my stare solemnly, his eyes speaking volumes. I wanted to give him a hug as well, but controlled the impulse. It wouldn't do to start passing out the hugs to everyone when questions needed to be asked.

"Hey there, Cher," Rene drawled as I nodded in his direction, his Cajun accent flavoring his words. Rene worked with Jason on the road crew and had been married to Arlene for a short while. He was an interesting character, especially when drunk.

"So," I said slowly, "What happened?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Sam spoke up. "Well, Dawn was running late for work again, so I came over here to light a fire under her ass. When she didn't answer the door, I tried around back since her car was out front. I thought maybe she overslept, but...then I saw her through the bedroom window." Sam grimaced, looking down at his feet.

"And how do you fit into this, JB?" I asked, making a quick notation on my notepad that I'd dug out of my purse.

"I live in the duplex next door. When Sam started pounding on Dawn's door, I got curious and came out to see what the ruckus was about." JB replied.

"And you made the call, Rene?"

"That I did, Miss Sookie. I was workin' on my truck when both Sam and JB came 'round front. Both were real pale like. Sam said that Dawn was dead and since I had my phone with me, I called 911 right quick." he explained, rubbing oil off his hands with a dirty, smudged towel that was in his back pocket.

"What time was Dawn supposed show up at work?" I asked Sam.

"She was supposed to be there by nine thirty to start setting up for the lunch crowd. Come ten fifteen, I couldn't stand it any longer and decided to come over. I didn't expect her to be..." Gesturing with his hand toward the duplex, Sam couldn't finish his sentence.

Concentrating on my notepad to stay focused, I finished questioning the three men. After doing a quick mental probe on Rene and JB to make sure they'd told me everything I needed to know, I excused myself. Back up front, I wasn't surprised to see the crowd behind the barricade had doubled in number.

Walking the short sidewalk that led to the open front door of Dawn's duplex, I was happy to see Alcide and Diego already standing in the entryway, talking to Andy. Both men were casually dressed; Diego wore a green polo T-shirt tucked into beige cargo shorts and tennis shoes, while Alcide had on a collared white button down and a pair of blue jeans paired with black combat boots.

Stopping before the three men, Diego smiled at me. "Hey, Sookie."

I returned his greeting quietly, forcing myself to smile back. Glancing up at Alcide, I saw him studying me, concern shining in his green eyes as Andy kept talking and gesturing towards the back of the house.

"Diego, why don't you go on ahead and start casing the scene. I need to speak with Sookie."

"I'll show you the way," Andy offered, leading Diego past the living room and kitchen, Diego's heavy silver suitcase in tow.

Pulling me over to the love seat, Alcide got right to the point. "You gonna be able to do this?"

Glancing over to where Diego and Andy had disappeared, I shrugged helplessly. "I don't know," I whispered, my professionalism melting around me as the reality of Dawn's death sank in deeper. "I can't act like this doesn't affect me, because it does. That's my brother's girlfriend laying dead back there. I used to work with her. I shouldn't even be here."

Alcide was silent, his brow furrowed in thought. "I can only imagine how you feel, Sookie. I'm sorry that you're being put in this situation and if you want to be taken off the case, I completely understand. The Lieutenant will make that decision for you anyway, whether you want to or not." Placing his hand on my shoulder and squeezing gently, he softly said, "I'm gonna go join Diego and Detective Bellefleur. It's your choice whether you want to join us or not, okay?"

Smiling gratefully at my friend, I nodded my head and watched him disappear down the hall. With a deep breath, I tried to center myself and stem the worry that flooded my mind about my brother. I knew that the Sheriff's Department would want to question him and want an alibi, especially since Dawn spoke up for him when he'd been questioned about Maudette's death.

The only thing that assuaged my anxiety was that I knew my brother was innocent, and if accused of anything, his name would be cleared once Diego ran his DNA against the samples he gathered from Maudette and what he found today.

Feeling more assured, I wiped my sweaty palms on the cotton of my dress. I needed to get it together. Granted, this case was bleeding over the lines of just being another murder to solve and was becoming more personal, but I needed to do what I could while I could do it. That was, until Lieutenant Whitley pulled me off the case and reassigned me to another.

"Buck up, Sookie," I whispered to myself, my feet slowly finding the way to the bedroom of Dawn's final moments.

Before stepping through the doorway, I reenforced my telepathic shields, hoping that it would keep my emotions in check. Yet, upon entering the room, the sight of Dawn's body on the four-poster canopy bed almost caused my shields to falter. Walking the edge of the room, I came to stand next to Alcide, my fingernails digging into the palm of my hands.

Dawn was laid out nude on the bed, in a kneeling position, her hands tied behind her back with a black silk scarf. Her dark brown hair fanned out around her head, her face half buried into the mattress. The left side of her face was visible, one brown eye looking at the mirror on the dresser that stood behind Alcide.

The flash of Diego's camera broke the trance I had fallen into. Clearing my throat, I stepped closer to the bed, pulling on the pair of surgical rubber gloves that Alcide handed me. Kneeling, I studied the ligature markings on Dawn's throat, the thickness of the bruising identical to Maudette's. My eyes lingered on the Vampire bite marks that marred her neck, the puncture wounds several days old.

_...Wonder if I can make it to Fangtasia tomorrow since I have the night off, maybe give that hunk another go if he's interested..._

Dawn's thoughts from Friday night came to mind as I considered the fang marks. Had she gone to Fangtasia last night? And who was this hunk she spoke of? Was it the same Vampire that Maudette had entertained or someone different?

Saving those questions for later, I studied the rest of Dawn's body.

She had bruising on both sides of her hips, her upper arms and most likely her wrists, but with the scarf in the way, I couldn't be sure. Studying her fingernails, I noted that they were intact, meaning that the killer had grown smart and wanted to avoid being scratched up by his victim.

Looking around the room, I studied the Venetian face masks on the wall and the harlequin clown figurines set up on the dresser. Everything seemed in order, nothing was out of place.

Glancing at Andy, I asked, "Was there any forced entry?"

Andy shook his head. "Nope, in fact, Merlotte let us in."

"That's right," I murmured, "I forgot that Sam owns these duplexes." Sighing loudly, I shook my head. "Dawn must have known the killer, just like Maudette. And let's face it, in a town like Bon Temps, everyone knows each other, so why not let the person into your home? We're not strangers here and that's the problem. Some people in this town don't even sleep with their doors locked." Like Gran. I shuddered at the thought, making a mental reminder to harass her to lock up at night.

"It is...disturbing." Andy agreed, patting the sweat off his forehead with a hand embroidered handkerchief.

"What can you tell us, Diego?" I asked, watching as he carefully moved around the bed, taking pictures from different angles.

"Well, I can tell you from looking at the contusions on her neck that they are identical to the ones that were in the first case." Carefully placing his camera down on the dresser, Diego crouched down by the body, clicking on a small flashlight that had been in his front pocket. "You see this zigzag pattern here?" he asked, gesturing to the side of the throat, shining the light on the bruising leading up toward the ear. I moved to the other side of the bed to get a better look. "You only get this with nylon ropes, which leaves its indentation on the skin. Other rope fibers are scratchy, and with the force needed to strangle someone, it leaves the skin raw."

Andy cringed after Diego's explanation. "What else can you tell us?"

Reaching down into his silver suitcase that held all of his tools, Diego took out his special ultra violet lamp. Not all secreted fluids, such as saliva, semen, urine and even blood, were visible to the naked eye. The ultra violet lamp, or UA, detected these fluids due to special proteins that fluoresce under its light. It was a critical tool used in all crime scene investigations.

"I don't think I'm gonna find any tissue samples under her fingernails since they are intact, but I'll check anyway. Our best bet is to check the pubic area. Detective Bellefleur, if you would be so kind to draw the curtains?" Diego asked, shutting the bedroom door. Andy went to the window and shut the heavy curtains, the room falling into semi darkness.

Diego switched on the lamp, the white of my dress and Alcide's shirt glowing a psychedelic blue in the light, as did the smear marks across Dawn's buttocks and thighs.

"Looks like he tried to clean up after himself this time," Alcide remarked, making a face.

"Yeah, but he didn't do such a good job," Diego said, turning the lamp at an angle to get a better view. "I'll be able to get a sample from here."

Feeling sick to my stomach, I looked away. Catching Alcide's eye, we shared a silent conversation as I lowered my shields.

_The air in here isn't as contaminated as it was by the first crime scene, but all I can smell is..._Alcide took a deep breath, closing his eyes,_...Dirt. Still fresh._

I quirked a brow at him. In Bon Temps, there were many professions that called for digging in the dirt; from gardeners to construction workers and farmers, it didn't really narrow down the field. But at least we could look into any new or on-going projects that had been started. It was still too early in the season for farmers to start harvesting their crops.

Tilting my head towards the bedroom door, I was about to signal to Alcide that we should step outside to speak privately, when my eyes shifted to the mirror behind him. My heart skipped a beat when I noticed the sudden appearance of writing that was on the glass surface.

"Sookie, what is it?" Alcide asked, glancing over his shoulder.

"The mirror..." I gasped, causing Diego and Andy to look as well.

The four of us crowded around the dresser, the UV lamp in Diego's hands causing the writing to become clearer. Written in a bold hand, the words glowed eerily in the darkness.

**_I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works._**

"It's from the Book of Revelation." I said, my blood running cold. "Revelations contains visionary descriptions of heaven and of conflicts between good and evil. It even speaks of Armageddon." The versus from Revelation were Gran's favorite from the Bible.

"But what does it mean, Sookie?" Andy asked, his voice slightly high pitched.

Stepping away from the mirror, I glanced back at Dawn's body, noticing once again the direction of her lifeless stare. Was that why she was staring at the mirror? Had she watched as her executioner wrote out her death sentence in what could only be invisible ink? Was there a similar message written somewhere in Maudette's apartment? The killer must be in possession of a black light or UV lamp to be able to write such a message. Why would he use invisible ink, which was undetectable in normal light?

"Sookie?"

Snapping out of my reverie, I returned my attention to the mirror.

_He who searches mind and heart..._

"He's passing judgement on those he considers immoral," I ruminated out loud, focusing more on the latter part of the paragraph. "He is looking for these women and punishes them as he sees fit. The fact that both were recently involved with Vampires has to be what influences his decisions on who to pursue."

"Great," Alcide muttered, "As if this case wasn't bad enough, it's a Bible thumping serial killer who likes his victims room temperature before he violates them."

Before anyone could respond, a muffled shout came from outside the house.

"Dawn!"

"Shit!" I exclaimed, recognizing the voice immediately.

In a flash, I was out of the bedroom and racing through the front door. Standing on the small patch of grass before the porch, I caught sight of my brother in a heated argument with Kevin, who had been guarding the front of the house.

"What is goin' on? Goddamn it, Kevin, let me pass!" Jason raged, pushing against Deputy Pryor, who pushed him right back. Both men were equally matched in height and weight.

Before the situation could escalate any further, I called for my brother. "Jason."

As soon as he saw me, Jason began to shake his head in denial; my appearance could mean only one thing. Stepping off of the porch, I held my hand out to him. Stumbling towards me, Jason dropped the bouquet of roses he'd been holding.

Glancing at the crowd behind the barricade, I grabbed Jason's hand and pulled him toward the backyard so we could speak privately. Sparing a quick glance at Sam, JB and Rene, I turned to my brother, who already had tears running down his face.

"She's dead, ain't she?"

Biting my lip, I nodded my head.

"Oh God!" he sobbed, falling to his knees. "I never should have left last night, but we had a fight and she wanted me to leave."

Placing my hand on his shoulder, I tried to offer him what comfort I could while still keeping it on a professional level. I still had a job to do. "Tell me what happened."

Wiping angrily at his tears, Jason tried to get his emotions under control. "I came over here yesterday when I got off work, to spend the evening with Dawn. When I got here, she wasn't too happy to see me. Said she was going out with some friends to that Vampire club, Fangtasia. I told her that I didn't think that was the best idea, especially after what happened to Maudette. That's when she started yelling at me, telling me that I wasn't her keeper and that she could do what she wanted. Said that she didn't want to be together anymore and that I needed to leave, before she called the cops."

"Did she end up going to Fangtasia last night?" I asked, the gears in my head churning.

"I don't know. I went to Merlotte's afterwards and got drunk. I was so angry with her-"

"Angry enough to kill her?" a voice asked from above us.

My annoyance flared when I saw that Andy had been eavesdropping on our conversation.

Jason stood quickly, his face flushing red at the accusation. "I didn't kill her, I swear!"

Andy smirked. "You know Stackhouse, I find it strangely convenient how the woman that was your alibi for Maudette's murder is now dead. Who will be your alibi this time? Maybe we should forewarn them before they meet the same fate as these two women."

"Fuck you, Andy!" Jason exploded, his hands curling into tight fists.

Before Andy could throw more fuel on the fire, I jumped in. "Andy, that's enough. While you are well within your rights to question Jason, you don't have any evidence that points to him being the killer."

"But he's been involved with both victims-" Andy began, but I cut him off.

"Half of Bon Temps was involved with Maudette, Andy. And with Dawn, that's just circumstantial. I know you think I'm saying this because he's my brother, but I know he's innocent. I'm sure he would be more than happy to supply Diego with a sample of his DNA to prove it."

"You're damn right I will." Jason said, relief clear in his voice.

"Sookie."

Looking over towards the gate to the backyard, I saw Alcide standing off to the side, phone in hand. Leaving my brother to Andy's questions, I walked toward my partner.

"It's the Lieutenant," he said, giving me the phone.

Clearing my throat, I tried to sound upbeat. "Hey, Boss."

"Sookie," he sighed, sounding regretful. "I'm sure you already know what I'm going to say."

"You're taking me off the case." I knew it would come, but that didn't mean I was happy about it. Since joining the Detectives Devision, I had followed through on all of my cases, right to the end. Even though I knew the reasoning behind such a decision, I still felt a small sting of disappointment.

"I'm sorry, Sookie. When your personally involved in a case, you can no longer be objective and keep a clear head." He was quiet for a moment, his voice taking on a fatherly tone. "Alcide told me that it was your brother's girlfriend that was murdered." Another pause. "Do you need to talk to a counselor, Sookie?"

"No, no, I'll be fine." I assured him, silently hoping that I would be.

"You know, when my wife tells me she's fine, that's usually my cue to run for cover," he quipped, managing to bring a smile to my lips.

"I'm good, Boss. Don't worry about me." I reiterated, trying to sound confident.

"Okay, but I still want you to take tomorrow off. When you come in Tuesday, I'll get you reassigned to another case."

After a few more words with the Lieutenant, I hung up and handed Alcide his smart phone back.

Alcide looked put out. "This case is insane enough as it is and with you gone, it's going to be that much more harder to solve."

"Just because I'm off the case doesn't mean that you can't bounce ideas off of me. And I'm sure Whitley already has someone lined up to take my place." Stepping closer to Alcide, I said quietly, "I need to tell you something. When I was at Merlotte's the other night, I caught a man thinking about that Fellowship of the Sun Church. Considering the new twist on the case with the writing on the mirror, it might be worth looking into, especially since they just opened a new sect in Shreveport."

Alcide's eyes glowed with interest. "That's a good find, Sookie. Thanks for telling me. I thought maybe after we're done here, Diego and I could swing by the first crime scene. Check and see if we missed anything the first time through."

"I'm about ninety-nine percent sure that your search will strike gold. With two murders under his belt, he can now be labeled a serial killer. And with the one message here, the chances are high he left one at Maudette's place, as well. Killers stay true to their M.O."

An M.O. is the perpetrator's method of operation; such as the weapon they liked to use, what motivates them to commit the crime and what they decide to leave behind on purpose.

"Yeah, that's true," Alcide commented, studying me closely. "You sure you're gonna be okay?"

Rolling my eyes, I tried to laugh it off. "Yes, I'm-"

"-fine, yeah, I heard." He chuckled, dodging my hand as I tried to slap his arm.

"You better stay in town, Stackhouse. You step one foot out of Renard Perish and I'll get a warrant that says you're a flight risk!"

"I should go rescue my brother, before he puts his foot in his mouth," I said, glancing over at the two men.

Hugging Alcide good-bye, I walked over and interrupted Andy before he could start another tirade. "Are you finished?" I asked, looping my arm around Jason's waist.

"Well, I may have a few more questions that I might need to ask." Andy started, to which I nodded my head.

"Of course. And you know where to find my brother when you need to ask them." Looking up into Jason's blue eyes, I gave him an encouraging smile and got him walking toward my car.

"Come on, Jas", I said softly, using his childhood nickname. "Let's go home."

* * *

><p>Entering my apartment several hours later, I felt bone weary and sported one hell of a headache. Tossing my purse on the side table that was next to the door, I went straight to the kitchen and found some aspirin.<p>

Pulling some bottled water out of the fridge, I leaned against the counter and quickly washed the pill down. Taking a moment to relish the coolness on my parched tongue, I slowly lowered my shields and sighed in relief.

The throbbing in the middle of my head let up a bit, but without my defenses in place to hold back my stronger emotions, my mental dam burst open and I began to sob with despair.

Closing the refrigerator door, I slowly made my way to the living room and flopped down on the couch. Gripping the hand embroidered pillow that Gran had made for me, I buried my face into its softness and allowed myself to experience all the feelings that had bubbled beneath the surface for the majority of the day.

The senseless death of these two women, caused by prejudice and fear, made my blood boil. I never understood such crimes, no matter how hard I tried to see the reasoning behind it. But what bothered me the most was how Dawn's death was affecting Jason.

After leaving the crime scene, I had gone straight to Gran's house. Someone must have called and let her know what was going on, for upon arriving, she was sitting on the porch with chamomile tea, waiting for us.

As Jason dragged his feet up the stairs of the porch and into Gran's waiting arms, I'd been taken with a sudden case of déjà vu. When my parents died, Jason had reacted the same way, almost zombie like. In the months following their deaths, Jason didn't speak to anyone, not even to me. Watching him today, I was reminded of that time, a time that I wished to erase from my memory.

Gran and I tried had our best to comfort Jason, but after an hour, he'd excused himself and gone upstairs to his old room. The urge to follow was great, but I knew that he needed to be alone to sort out his emotions.

I told Gran what I could about the murder, but I had to bite my tongue about the scripture written on the mirror. While I trusted Gran, she sure did love her gossip and I didn't need her slipping a major clue about the case into Everlee or Mrs. Fortenberry's ear. It would spread all over Bon Temps like wild-fire.

I spent the rest of the afternoon with Gran, and though I tried my best not to show it, I was completely distracted. Gran left me to my musings, for which I was grateful. Just because I was officially off the case didn't mean I could turn my thoughts off about it.

Once Jeopardy was over, I decided to take my leave, but not before checking on Jason. He'd been sleeping peacefully, which I took as a good sign. He just needed time.

Before leaving, Gran had grabbed my hand and pulled me close.

"Sookie," she whispered hoarsely, her brown eyes earnest. "Be careful."

Studying her closely, I could only nod in assurance. My voice seemed to be on the fritz today.

And now, alone with my emotions, I let the fear, the worry and the anger surge through me until I had no tears left. Sniffling, I slowly sat up and reached for the tissue box on the coffee table. Blowing my nose and wiping the dampness off my cheeks, I leaned back into the buttery soft cushions of my new suede sofa.

Relieved that I felt better, I glanced around my living room, enjoying the sanctuary of my home.

I lived in a two bedroom apartment on the outskirts of western Shreveport, close to Cross Lake. When I'd decided to move to Shreveport, it had taken me a long time to find an ideal place to live. I didn't want to stay in a highly populated area where I could never let my shields down.

After weeks of searching, I came across a new apartment complex built near Walter Jacobs Park, set in the lush woods that surrounded Shreveport. I immediately jumped at the chance to live in the beautiful Antebellum modeled apartments. Gran had given me a bit of furniture that had sat in the attic, stating that even though I wasn't living with her anymore, I could still take a part of the Stackhouse home with me. I loved the serenity I found here, and while I did pick up a spare thought or two on occasion from my neighbors, the sound proof insulation in the walls helped guarantee that I could have my peace at home.

Slowly making my way to the bathroom, I decided that a hot steamy bubble bath was in order. Pushing the shower curtain out of the way, I turned on the faucets and added a generous dose of my favorite bubble bath to the clawfoot tub. Stripping out of my white cotton sundress, which I vowed to never wear again, I pinned my hair up and slipped into the hot water with a sigh of delight.

Pushing all questions and thoughts to the back of my mind, I closed my eyes and relaxed.

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I knew, the phone was ringing and I was sitting in lukewarm bath water. Springing into action, I scrambled out of the bathtub and snagged one of the beige terry cloth towels hanging on the towel rack.

Quickly wrapping the towel around my chest, I made a mad dash for the cordless phone in the kitchen, almost slipping on the hardwood floors since my feet were wet.

"Hello?" I gasped, pressing the phone between my shoulder and ear as I secured my towel around me, tucking the corner between my breasts.

"Sookie? You okay?"

"Alcide," I said, trying to catch my breath. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was taking a bath." I frowned at my fingers. They looked like raisins. "What's up?"

"We hit pay dirt at Maudette's."

That caught my attention. "What did it say?"

"Go check your cell phone. I sent you a picture of it. I've tried to get a hold of you for the last hour until I thought to try your home phone."

Entering the living room, I grabbed my purse by the door, fumbling with the zipper to get to the contents within. Slipping my phone out of its special side pocket, I turned it on and scrolled through all the notifications of missed calls and text messages received. Finding the picture Alcide sent me, I selected the image and enlarged it.

**_And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations. And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus._**

"Alcide..." I whispered, studying the florescent words written in the same bold, slanting script. I didn't recognize the verse, but the meaning was quite clear.

"I know. We found it on the mirror just inside the closet door. And get this; someone's broken into the apartment."

"Really?"

"Yup. After the cleaning crew finished with the apartment, the door was sealed shut. When Diego and I arrived here this afternoon to look for the message, the padlock had been pried off with a crow bar ."

That was just...creepy. "Was anything taken?"

"Funny you should ask that. After a fun hour of looking at all the pictures that Diego had taken the day Maudette was found and comparing them to the current state of the room, we found one thing missing. What appears to be a small ballerina figurine in the picture is no longer on the shelf."

"He's collecting souvenirs." I murmured, turning off my smart phone.

"Yeah, but why not take it the day he did the deed? Why go back?" Alcide asked, the sound of a car door closing in the background.

"I don't know. Maybe he was so impressed with himself that he actually went through with it, he decided to go back and collect something personal from the victim as a trophy."

"Do you think he'll go back to the crime scene from today?"

I rubbed my eyes. "I don't know. But considering that it was risky enough going to Maudette's place, I don't think he would chance it a second time. I'm sure he's already taken what he wanted from Dawn's place."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Alcide sighed. "How's Jason doing?"

"He's doing as well as can be expected. I'm sure he'll be okay." I actually crossed my fingers.

"Well, I'm heading home. I feel like I've been rode hard and put away wet. Call me if you need me, all right?"

"I will. You take it easy, Partner."

Those were my conversations with Alcide; short, sweet and right to the point.

Hanging up the cordless, I walked back to the bathroom. Unplugging the bathtub, I stood and watched as the water slowly disappeared down the drain. The small piece of harmony I'd found was gone and my mind was once again firing on all cylinders.

How could someone from my hometown be committing these murders? Yes, Bon Temps was a backwater town inhabited by rednecks and many of those people were scared of the strange and unfamiliar, but to do something so malicious, so horrible. Never in a million years would I have thought it possible.

_...drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus._

Vampires were the pivotal driving force here. He viewed them as unholy beings and anyone who became involved with them should be judged and punished.

_He who searches mind and heart..._

How did he target his quarry? How did he know that both women were with Vampires recently? Maudette and Dawn had frequented Fangtasia quite often. Was that the start point? Did the killer go shopping for potential victims at this Vampire bar?

Shaking my head, I walked over to the sink and washed my face. Patting my face dry with a hand towel, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. An idea began to take form in my mind as I studied the familiar features of my face. It wasn't the greatest idea, or even the safest, but it was all I had and it felt like a good place to start.

Leaving the bathroom, I headed straight for the closet in my bedroom. Opening the door, I flicked the light on and considered my clothing options that were available for my impromptu visit to the Premiere Vampire Bar in Shreveport.

While I trusted Rasul, someone who wasn't a Vampire needed to check this place out. Alcide couldn't walk into Fangtasia since he was a werewolf and the two were usually hostile toward each other, Rasual being the exception. A normal person could be glamoured and forget any information they'd gathered.

I knew that Rasul wouldn't be pleased. And Alcide would be furious with me. But I had to do this. It didn't matter that I wasn't on the case anymore. I was the only one who could go into that place and have a chance at finding some answers.

Frowning at the summer and church dresses hanging in front of me, I pushed them to the side, the metal hook of the hanger screeching slightly on the bar. Pushing my work suits out of way, I growled in annoyance that I had nothing that would allow me to blend in.

I knew what fangbangers looked like, and while I would never try to emulate one, I sure as hell couldn't walk in there wearing a pretty little sundress. I didn't want to draw too much attention.

Just as I was about to give up and go rummage through my dresser, a dress bag hanging in the corner caught my eye. Remembering the dress within, I smiled in triumph and snatched it up.

Laying the bag on my bed, I unzipped it and pushed the plastic cover away. For my birthday last month, Gran had given me her original Suzy Perette dress. Bought in the 1950'S, Gran had worn this dress proudly as a young woman. It had been a gift from Grandpa Stackhouse for his lovely bride and she'd delighted in this dress, her one true extravagance.

I've always admired the pictures of Gran where she'd worn this outfit, so you can imagine my surprise when unwrapping my gift from her revealed the newly restored Suzy Perette, fitted to my exact measurements. It had brought tears to my eyes.

Eyeing the black taffeta material, I decided this would be my reconnaissance outfit for the evening. Granted, it was a bit fancy, but it was black and with the right makeup, I just might be able to pull it off. I just hoped that it didn't get dirty.

Heading back to the bathroom, I pulled out my makeup bag and began to color my eyelids with a smoky gray hue. After ten minutes of playing around with eyeliner, mascara and blush, I smiled in satisfaction as I achieved my desired look. To complete the ensemble, I applied a dark red lipstick.

Unclipping my hair, I quickly brushed the strands and returned to my bedroom. Discarding my towel, I pulled the dress off the hanger and undid the back zipper. Being careful not to mess up my face, I pulled the dress over my head, the silken material rustling as it molded itself to my body.

Retrieving a pair of red pumps from my closet, I stood before the full length mirror next to the bed to contemplate my finished look.

The black taffeta dress had a full skirt that fell to the knee and a halter style top with a plunging neckline that showed a generous amount of cleavage. The red heels were a perfect match, and along with my makeup and long flowing hair, I barely recognized myself. The woman staring back at me in the mirror was sexy, mysterious.

Moving my wallet, cell phone and badge into a small red leather purse, I frowned at my gun laying on the bed. I was not going to leave myself unprotected, but bringing a gun into a Vampire bar would be pointless. A Vampire could take several rounds to the chest and still come at you as though nothing had happened.

Opening the drawer to my night stand, I pulled out a different kind of gun; my taser gun. Now, if I bring a taser gun into a Vampire bar and shoot 50,000 volts at about 19 pulses per second...you were going down, Vampire or not. Sensory and motor nerves would be put out of commission. It was simple, yet effective.

As added protection, I wrapped a sterling silver lariat around my neck, the ends of the necklace nestling into my cleavage.

When it was completely dark outside, I grabbed my car keys and left the apartment.

Fangtasia was in southern Shreveport, off of Interstate 49, a large black building sitting alone against the Louisiana countryside. Miles from town but still within city limits, it gave visitors a taste of danger and excitement to enter the lion's den set in an isolated locale. Any safety a person may have felt disappeared once they realized that they were alone here, prey among the predators. I think it was the adrenaline rush that kept people coming back for more.

Pulling into the parking lot, it took me five minutes to find a spot. The club looked packed, with a line wrapping around the building.

Getting out of my car and locking the doors, I stared at the building through the rows of cars. The only thing I could truly distinguish from this distance was a large red sign flashing the word "Fangtasia".

"You can do this, Sookie," I whispered, psyching myself up.

Gripping my purse tightly, I slowly made my way through the maze of cars, staying alert to what was going on around me. My heels clicked against the tarmac, the sound matching the loud cadence of my heart which roared in my ears.

As the front of the club came into view, I stopped and noticed that the club had no windows, at least none that I could see. Glancing at the line of fangbangers anxiously waiting to get into the club, I lowered my shields and reached out as far as my telepathy could go, hoping to get a count on how many Vampires were on the premises.

I was immediately bombarded with the craziest thoughts I'd ever heard in my life.

_...Oh god, I wanna get tweaked so bad tonight..._

_...for Mistress Pam, I will do anything Mistress Pam says..._

_...My nipple clamps are pinching my skin..._

_...I need to get fucked tonight, I don't care how, just pick a hole..._

Cringing, I threw my shields up. It would be a challenge to glean anything useful through the sewage that was here tonight. At least I'd been able to make out nine black voids in the mess that had bombarded my senses.

"Who wants to get into the club?!"

The voice was strong, confident. And slightly annoyed. A female Vampire stood a few yards away by the entrance of club, no doubt the hostess who decided who got into the club or not. She was quite tall and her blonde hair was twisted into a complicated chignon bun. She wore a red skin-tight bodysuit with matching leather boots that went all the way up to the knee. She was quite beautiful, but she struck an imposing figure; especially with the riding crop she wielded in her hand.

Standing behind her stood another Vampire. An Asian male, he had long black hair and his arms were covered in tattoos. He held a clipboard in his hands. I suppose he acted as the bouncer.

The crowd of fangbangers began to yell and holler at the question, trying to draw the attention of the statuesque Vampire.

"You there!" she ordered, pointing with the riding crop to the front of the line. Silence fell as a scrawny man sporting a mohawk and eyeliner stepped forward.

The blonde eyed the man and sighed impatiently as he trembled before her. "What will you do to get into the club?" she asked, smacking the leather crop into her open hand.

"A-Anything, Mistress Pam!" he stuttered, clasping his hands together in supplication.

Mistress Pam?

"Anything?" Mistress Pam repeated, raising a perfectly arched eyebrow.

The man nodded his head fervently. And to prove how serious he was, the fangbanger dropped to his knees and proceeded to kiss her red leather boots.

Curling her lip in disgust, the Vampire kicked the man roughly away.

"Too desperate. Next!"

Perhaps this wasn't the best idea. As much as I wanted to get into the club, I wasn't going to humiliate myself to do it. I was walking away from this place with my dignity in tact. Turning to leave, "Mistress Pam" looked my way and our eyes met.

I paused, curious when she smiled. It was strange. I'd never seen a Vampire smile before. Rasul never showed any emotion. Yet, to finally see one smiling and have it directed toward me...it was unnerving.

I braced myself as she came sashaying in my direction, the eyes of the crowd watching her every move. As she neared, I could see that she was a classic beauty, with high cheekbones and piercing blue eyes.

"Now, what do we have here?" she asked, her gaze traveling the length of my body. "Is...Is that a Suzy Perette?"

I raised my eyebrows, surprised by her enquiry. "Yes, yes it is."

A genuine laugh left her rouged lips. "I thought so. I use to own several of these dresses. You have good taste." I almost jumped when her fangs snicked down.

_Stay calm, Sookie._

Tapping her chin with a blood-red fingernail, she studied me for several heartbeats. "You're something of an enigma, aren't you?" She sounded intrigued.

I didn't answer her question. I returned her stare unflinchingly, even when she glanced at the silver wrapped around my neck.

"Definitely an enigma," she murmured.

Turning, she walked over to the black velvet rope blocking the entrance of the bar. Unclipping the rope from the post, she glanced at me and gestured with her hand.

"You may enter."

Breathing out a silent sigh of relief, I moved toward the Vampires and the open doors of Fangtasia. I half expected them to stop me and rescind the invitation to enter, but I passed unscathed and entered into a darkened hallway lit by dim wall sconces.

I followed the curving hall, the sound of music guiding my step. I frowned when I saw that the archway leading into the club was covered with what appeared to be plastic refrigerator flaps. I'd only ever seen them in the grocery store or at Merlotte's. Why would someone put them up like this as decoration?

Then the irony hit me; this was the club owner's attempt at a joke. Needed to keep the food fresh, right?

Rolling my eyes, I pushed through the flaps and stopped short at my first glimpse of Fangtasia.

The first thing I noticed was the dance floor. The club wasn't full yet, but the people that had gotten past "Mistress Pam" were up and dancing to the intense rock song pounding over the speakers placed strategically throughout the room. A strobe light pulsed in rhythm to the beat of the song, making the dancers look like a writhing pit of snakes in their leather and latex clothing.

A well stocked bar was to the left, inviting people to belly up to the bar or they could take a seat at one of the tables where a waitress could deliver the drinks. A raised daïs was to the right of me, a large chair carved from wood sitting on its surface. It was an interesting piece of furniture with strange designs etched along the legs and back rest. I suspected that it was reserved for someone special.

Besides the occasional sign warning that biting wasn't permitted within the bar, the walls were bare.

Scanning my surroundings one last time, I took a seat at a corner table so I could see the entire club and prevent anyone from sneaking up behind me. Though the lighting wasn't as bright as I would have liked it, I could already place five Vampires by the slight glow they emitted. As far as I knew, I was the only one that could see this illumination. I wasn't sure why I had this ability, but I accepted it and used it when I found using my telepathy an inconvenience. This sixth sense was quite helpful.

I sat up straighter when a waitress came to my table. She looked a little frazzled and didn't make eye contact with me, completely focused on her order pad.

"What's your poison?"

"I'll take a seltzer water with a slice of lemon, please," I requested, turning my head to study the untidy hair of my server.

She nodded quickly and scurried away to the bar where a Vampire was serving the drinks. The Vampire had long black hair, and unless I was mistaken, he looked like he had Native American roots. I scrutinized them for a moment, noticing the aggressive body language of the male as he spoke to the girl and her fearful stance. Something was going on there.

Careful to keep control of my shields and not be overwhelmed with so many thoughts, I tentatively reached out, hoping to catch something.

_...where is he?_

_...oh god, I hope Eric shows tonight..._

_...I can't stand waiting like this..._

_...I'm as good as dead if Eric finds out. I wish I'd never noticed the missing money. If Eric doesn't kill me, he will. I can feel him watching my every move, even now..._

Slamming my shields in place, I glanced up as the waitress returned with my drink, her hand shaking as she placed my water before me on a small napkin. The last thought I'd heard had come from the frightened server, and studying the name tag on her black Fangtasia shirt, she went by the name Ginger.

"Thank you," I said, giving her a warm smile. Who was this Eric? Seemed like many in attendance here tonight had him on their mind.

"You're welcome," she returned, her voice thick with unshed tears. Clasping her tray to her chest, she disappeared into the crowd.

For the next hour, I watched and listened as the club slowly filled. The Vampires were stoic and aloof as fangbangers showered them in admiration. I found a few of them look my way from time to time, but to my surprise no one approached me, for which I was grateful.

Every few minutes I would listen to the sexually charged thoughts of the people around me, hoping to capture something useful.

_...just touch me, please, yes, oh god yes!_

_...bitch gonna get it good, I want her to suck me dry..._

_...I wonder where the Northman is?_

Sighing in disgust, I finished my water and slammed my glass down onto the table. This was getting me nowhere. After a full hour of listening to the obscene and perverse, I felt like running home and scrubbing my skin raw.

Deciding to call it a night, I grabbed my purse and stood up. That's when I noticed the eerie silence that had settled over the club. Someone had even turned the music off. Glancing around to see what was going on, I felt my breath catch in my throat when I saw who everyone was looking at.

A Vampire had emerged from the back of the bar, magically appearing from a concealed door in the wall. As he walked across the room, the people standing in his way jumped back, lest they get run over by this mountain of a man.

I wasn't surprised to see him heading for the daïs. As he climbed up onto the raised platform, his black biker boots thumped loudly through the bar. He settled himself into the massive chair, stretching his long legs before him. He glanced around the room once, and with a nod of his head, the music came back on and people began to talk again.

Fangbangers rushed forward to kneel before the Vampire, though they were careful not to touch the daïs. It reminded me of how commoners pay fealty to a King or Queen. Judging by his entrance and the attention he was garnering now, he was a V.I.P. Was this the elusive Eric that so many had thought of tonight? He didn't seem to be interested in the adoring crowd gathering before him. I had the feeling he was bored with it.

Mr. V.I.P. was unlike anyone I'd ever seen before. He had long blonde hair that went past his shoulders, framing a face that was handsome and strong. He was extremely tall, his body well-defined and muscular. I appreciated the view his black wife beater tank top gave me, my eyes moving of their own accord down to the leather pants that hugged his legs like a second skin.

Glancing back up at his face, I felt my heart skip a beat when I saw him looking at me. I stared back in return, surprised. I wasn't sure if he was staring at me or at something nearby. The cadence of my heart began to accelerate when I realized that he was indeed fixated on me. Bracing the palm of my hand against the table to steady myself, I quickly looked away, my face burning with embarrassment.

Had he seen me checking him out? I appreciated a handsome man, but I was usually more discreet when it came to that appreciation. I wasn't sure why I was reacting so strongly to the sight of this Vampire, but my instincts were screaming caution.

Nervously tucking my hair behind my ears, I tried to act nonchalant as I glanced his way once more. Mr. V.I.P. was still looking at me. And unless mistaken, the corner of his mouth was curving up in rare smile. Unable to break eye contact, we gazed at each other from across the room, the intensity of his stare causing the hair on my arms to stand on end.

_Come to me._

That was when I heard it. Just three little words. My eyes widened in shock as the words echoed inside my head. It was impossible. My shields were still in place and even if I tried to read a Vampire's mind, I would get nothing but dead air. Yet, it seemed that the impossible was possible. I'd somehow read Mr. V.I.P.'s mind and he wanted only one thing; for me to come to him.

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><p><strong>Yeah, he wants only one thing: SOOKIE! So, I hope everyone enjoyed that, because I sure did love writing it. The plot thickens! I really took my time with this Chapter with researching my facts, I hope that I didn't get anything wrong.<br>**

**I hope you like the angle I'm taking on these murders, because in my opinion, killers who kill in the name of God are the creepiest of all. **

**Sookie's dress, the Suzy Perette, is a real line of clothing, you should check them out. They are amazing!**

**With the relocation of Fangtasia: I always found it silly how CH put it next to a Toys'R'Us in the book. With a Vampire bar, you are gonna go for the thrill of seeing creatures of the night and being out in the middle of nowhere adds that thrill/fear factor. Not next to a children's toy store. :S**

**Thank you Samantha Jones for giving me the riding crop idea for 'Mistress Pam.' I loved that Sex and the City episode where Sam is wielding that crop, and I wanted our Pam to have fun, because we all know how much she loathes fangbangers. I wanted to let her have control. :=)  
><strong>

**Eric, Eric Eric. Or should I say Mr. V.I.P. or V.I.V? Lol. I wanted to focus on how important he is, that he is above a normal Vamp and Sookie sees that in his dramatic entrance. I'm excited to write the next Chapter and their interaction with each other.**

**I added 2 new songs to my playlist on YouTube. You can find the link to my soundtrack list for this story on my profile page.  
><strong>

**Nine Inch Nails-Dead Souls: This is the song I hear as Sookie walks down the hall into the club. I love the beat and it fits in perfectly with Vampires.**

**Florence and the Machine-Drumming Song: This is the song I hear when Sookie and Eric make eye contact. I know my heart would be beating louder than anything and this song fits the bill.**

**Thanks for reading and to everyone who reviewed. You are amazing! **


	7. Center Of Attention

**Hey Everyone! Here's a Sunday treat for you! I want to thank everyone who reviewed and to those that clicked favorite or follow. They are like little gifts that I love to receive and the reviews bring a smile to my face. **

**The events in this chapter is what inspired me to write this story. I will tell you which one at the bottom. :)**

**Just a head's up, Eric and Pam have a conversation in this chapter in Swedish, and just to avoid any confusion or throwing the story off by having to scroll to the bottom to see what they said, I put the translation at the end of the sentence in parenthesis. Plus, I hope Google didn't fook up the translation. :P **

**This chapter isn't beta'd.**

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><p><em>Should I go to him?<em>

Just the thought of walking over to the alluring Vampire caused me to feel vulnerable and out of control. What would he expect from me if I did go over there? I didn't know what he was used to, but what ever it was, he wouldn't be getting it from me.

Looking away from the hypnotic eyes that held me captive, I shielded my face with my loose hair and closed my eyes, consumed by fear and doubt.

Intimacy scared me; being a twenty-six year old virgin would do that to a person. My window of opportunity had closed years ago when I realized I could never be normal around regular men. How could I be intimate with a man when a simple touch intensified every thought tenfold? It made for slim pickings.

Sure, there was Sam and the attraction between us. But if I was supposed to be with him, wouldn't our relationship have grown into something more by now? I do believe that if you're meant to be with someone, you will end up with them, no matter what. It was inevitable. The man I was destined to be with was out there somewhere. I've waited this long, I just needed to stay positive. The flip side of the coin was just too depressing to think about.

Opening my eyes, my insecurities fled back into the corner of my mind. No, I wouldn't be going anywhere but home tonight. I came here for one purpose, not to get mixed up with Vampires.

Chancing a quick glance, I saw Mr. V.I.P. was still looking at me. I especially didn't need to get mixed up with the likes of him. He was one of the most intimidating Vampires I have seen since the Great Revelation. He scared me to death.

No, I needed to leave. Now.

Moving toward the exit, I kept my head down, hoping to lose myself within the crowd and make a clean getaway. I was a few feet away from the plastic refrigerator flaps when an accented voice sounded from behind me.

"Leaving so soon?"

Shit. There went my escape.

Turning around, I was confronted with a towering wall of muscle and flesh. Tilting my head back, I stoically met the blonde Vampires gaze, my poker face sliding into place.

Up close, he was even more enticing. His broad shoulders blocked out the rest of the bar, and for one cosmic moment, it was just the two of us. His ice blue eyes studied me as intently as I did him, his countenance seemingly pleased that he caught me.

He surprised me when he held his hand out to me. Vampires did not like to be touched.

"Would you care to join me?" he asked. His voice was rich and smooth, like chocolate. It sent tingles down my spine.

Staring at his large hand, it was on the tip of my tongue to politely turn down his invitation. My mind was screaming for me to leave, but it was my heart that spoke louder than my thoughts, urging me to take a chance.

Common sense took a hike as I watched my fingers touch the cool palm of the Vampire's hand, his long fingers gently wrapping around me. Sucking in a quick breath at the contact, I glanced up in time to see a small smile on the Vampire's lips as he turned to guide me through the crowd. That was when I noticed everyone staring at us.

I was on the receiving end of so many dirty looks, one would think that I ran over everyone's dog or something. Gritting my teeth, I endured the scrutiny, unconsciously gripping the strong hand that held my own.

Arriving at a booth that was hidden in the shadows near the bar, the Vampire reluctantly let go of my hand as he waited for me to seat myself. I watched as he slid on to the bunk bench opposite me with ease, the lit candle on the table emphasizing the rugged angles of his face.

I was startled when my waitress from earlier, Ginger, appeared out of nowhere with a bottle of True Blood and a glass of seltzer water with a slice of lemon. Quickly placing the drinks before us, she melted back into the throng of fangbangers before I had a chance to thank her.

My host ignored the warm synthetic blood, his attention wholly focused on me. "What is your name?"

"I would prefer to keep that to myself," I said, meeting his curious stare. I was already in the danger zone. Anonymity made me feel secure in this potentially dangerous situation.

He looked amused. "I see. Well, I'm not opposed to giving you my name. I am Eric Northman."

Eric Northman. So this was the Vampire occupying everyone's thoughts tonight. The mystery of that excitement was becoming clearer with every passing moment I spent in his presence.

"It's nice to meet you." I winced internally at how naïve I sounded. I was in uncharted waters, dealing with an individual who left me feeling awkward and unsure of myself.

"Aren't you sweet," Eric commented, leaning forward with his elbows on the table.

"Not really," I replied, almost laughing. I've been called many things in my life; sweet would be on the bottom of the list.

"Oh, but I think you are," Eric mused, his voice husky. "You just don't like to admit it."

Looking away, I stared at the glass of water in front of me and took a controlled sip, hoping to hide my unease. If he saw me as someone who was sweet, he might take that as a sign of weakness. I was not weak. I would have to disillusion him of that idea.

"This is your first time here." It wasn't a question.

"Yes, it is," I said warily, meeting his eyes once more.

"And what made you come to my bar tonight?" Eric asked, steepling his fingers before him.

His bar? The worries Ginger had made sense now. Eric was her boss. I filed that bit of information away for later.

Without missing a beat, I answered him. "I was curious. I've never been to a Vampire bar before and I wanted to see what it was like."

"Does that mean you're...," he paused, choosing his words carefully, "...unattached?"

Uh oh. He wanted to know if I belonged to another Vampire.

The intricacies of Vampire etiquette were complex and bewildering. I considered telling him the unofficial lie that Rasul and I went with when dealing with other Vampires. I wondered if Eric would respect the claim and back off. Or would he ignore it and pursue me anyway? I wasn't sure how to feel about that. He was someone who most definitely got their way in all matters.

I decided to be honest. He would learn the truth, one way or another. "No, I'm not attached to anyone."

Eric's blue eyes seemed to glow with this discovery. He opened his mouth to speak and I waited with bated breath for his next words. I was thrown off-balance when another voice broke the spell that had fallen over us.

"Ah, I see you found my enigma."

Eric and I glanced up as Mistress Pam sidled up to our table.

"Your enigma?" Eric asked, frowning at the female Vampire. He wasn't pleased about the interruption.

"Yes, my enigma," she answered, looking over at me. "She is unlike any fangbanger I've ever seen before. I believe she is quite the find."

"Hitta någon annan. Hon är min." Eric stated, his voice brooking no argument. (Find someone else. She is mine.)

Mistress Pam looked like she wanted to hit him with her riding crop.

"Men jag såg henne först." Pam retorted, planting her right hand on her hip. (But I saw her first.)

"Du kommer att komma över det." Eric assured her. (You will get over it.)

"Du är så självisk." Pam complained, admitting defeat. (You are so selfish.)

"Med den här? Absolut." Eric said possessively, bringing his gaze back to me. (With this one? Absolutely.)

While I did wonder what the two chatted about and what language they conversed in, I took the opportunity to use my telepathy. I needed to know if what I heard earlier was real or just a figment of my imagination.

Slowly dropping my shields, I tried to probe Eric's thoughts. I sighed in relief when I hit a wall, the black void representing his mind silent and empty. It must have been my mind playing tricks on me or my subconscious telling me what I wanted to hear. I felt foolish that I believed it was true.

_...Goddamnit, where the fuck is the SWAT team? They should have been here five minutes ago! I can't wait forever, especially with that Vampire feeding on that poor fuck in the bathroom. We have Northman right where we want him. We have to move, NOW..._

It was right at that moment when Eric looked at me, after his short talk with Pam, that the stray thought flooded my mind along with the rest of the bar. Craning my neck, I scanned the crowd, my heart thudding loudly in my chest.

The swaying bodies of fangbangers swelled and parted, revealing a man who I knew from work. His name was Chester Hartman and he was part of the Special Weapons and Tactics team, also known as SWAT. He was dressed to blend in with the crowd and I wondered how long he'd been staking out the bar.

Looking in the direction of the bathrooms, I concentrated on reaching out and finding the one thread I was looking for.

_...Please, stop. Too much, you're taking too much. No, please..._

The person in the bathroom was dying. There was only one thing I could do.

Grabbing hold of my purse, I returned my attention to Eric and Mistress Pam. Both Vampires were staring at me curiously.

"Mr. Northman, I don't want to alarm you," I began, my voice calm, measured. "But a SWAT team is planning to raid your establishment within the next few minutes. And to make matters worse, a Vampire is not only feeding on someone in the bathroom, but is about to take their life."

Eric's entire demeanor changed within a heartbeat. His eyes narrowed in anger and his fangs descended. If he scared me before, he was absolutely terrifying now. "And how would you know this? Are you a cop?"

Not waiting to give him an answer, I darted out of the booth and quickly made my way for the restrooms. I was surprised at how fast everyone moved out of the way, but with a glance over my shoulder, I understood why; Eric was in hot pursuit.

The confidence with which I did my job wrapped around me like a cloak, pushing aside all the insecurities I had felt for the last half hour. Someone's life was in jeopardy and it was my job to protect them. I would worry about the aftermath when it came.

_...Cold, so cold. Please..._

Honing in on the fading thoughts, I arrived at the women's bathroom and pushed the door open. Upon entering, I was happy to see that with the exception of one closed stall, the place was empty.

Reaching into my purse, I pulled out the taser gun. Quietly stepping over to the occupied toilet, I focused of the black void within and tried to ignore the slurping noise coming from the other side of the door.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Eric and Pam enter the restroom just as I raised my heeled foot and kicked the stall open, my gun at the ready. I was lucky that the Vampire didn't bother to lock the door or I would have to of given it a few more tries.

As the door flew open, the feeding Vampire spun around faster than my eyes could track. Like something out of a horror movie, the female bared her blood covered fangs at me and hissed, the bottom half of her face covered in gore.

Without hesitation, I pulled the trigger on the taser gun. Two small, dart-like electrodes launched forward and latched on to the Vampires forehead. She screeched in agony and lost control of her body, convulsing on the floor as charges of electric current pulsed through her nerve endings.

Counting to ten, I released my hold on the trigger. The female Vampire sprawled out under the toilet, her arms and legs twitching from the residual effects of being tased. Her eyes were open, but she was unable to move.

Stepping over the incapacitated Vampire, I bent over the man who was slouched over on the toilet.

"Sir, are you okay? Can you hear me?" I asked, relieved to feel a thready pulse under my fingertips as I touched his wrist.

The man was an older gentleman and barely conscious, but at least he was alive. I could hear his thoughts of thanks and relief, but the words never made it to his lips. He was too weak to speak.

"Pamela. Get them out of here."

Turning, I saw Eric and Pam watching the show. Quickly pushing a button on the taser, the electrodes retracted from the downed Vampire's forehead and reeled backwards into the gun. Both Vampires watched me, their expressions calculating.

"Do you mind?" Pam asked me, gesturing for me to get out of the way.

"What will you do with him?" I asked, refusing to budge. I wasn't certain what my next move would be, but I kept my finger on the trigger, just in case.

"I just want to get them out of here before the SWAT raid happens," Pam said, her eyes straying to the taser in my hand.

"I want your word," I demanded, staring at Eric. "I want your word that no harm will come to this man."

Pam was about to answer, but Eric was faster. "I promise you the human will be safe."

Looking up at Eric in shock, Pam was obviously surprised by his acquiescence.

Knowing that time was of the essence, I stepped out of the stall and waited by the sink with Eric. Seconds later, Pam reappeared carrying the man over her shoulder like a sack of potatoes and dragging the still spasming Vampire by the hair.

Eric kindly opened the door for her and as she stepped out into the hallway, all hell broke loose.

"Police! Everyone down on the ground!"

People began screaming, startled by the sudden appearance of automatic weapons and men in masks. The sound of breaking glass and splintering furniture could be heard from where we stood.

"This way," Eric hastened, his large hand settling on my lower back to guide me to the rear exit by the bathrooms.

I briefly noticed Pam disappearing into a side door before the balmy night air filled my lungs. Eric continued to propel me forward, steering us toward a red corvette that sat alone in the dark private parking lot.

"Get in," he ordered, opening the car door for me. He stared at me expectantly and I shortly debated the wisdom in refusing his request.

_He hasn't given me a reason not to trust him. The problem here is he doesn't trust me._

Deciding to take another chance and hoping it didn't get me killed, I slid into the Corvette. Closing the door after me, Eric settled into his seat two heartbeats later, the use of his Vampire speed hurrying things along.

With a turn of the key, the Corvette roared to life for its owner. With expert hands, Eric quickly maneuvered us out of the parking lot and avoided the three SWAT vans parked up front. We were on the interstate in no time.

Heading into the night, we drove south, away from Shreveport. I held myself stiffly, finding it hard to relax as the miles passed by. Where was he taking me? I mentally berated myself for being so foolish and trusting. I was always so cautious but here I was, alone with the most frightening Vampire I've seen to date.

_Way to go, Sookie. Hopefully I will live to regret this._

Looking at the clock on the dashboard, I saw that it was well past midnight. I counted the minutes and tried to ignore the unnerving silence that stretched between Eric and I. Should I try to explain myself? No, that just might anger him.

Twenty minutes later, Eric pulled off the interstate and onto an access road. He came to a stop and killed the ignition. Gripping the taser gun I still held in my right hand, I watched as he stepped out of the car and walk a few feet in front of the Corvette.

He turned and stared at me, the shining headlights making his eyes bluer than ever. He stood there solemnly, his body language neutral. He was waiting for me to join him.

My hand shook as I opened the car door. It was time to face the music.

As I walked toward Eric, I slipped the taser gun back into my purse. His eyes followed my movements and I hoped he would take it as a sign that I didn't want any trouble.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Sookie Stackhouse. I am a homicide detective with the Shreveport Police Department."

"Sookie Stackhouse." I felt goosebumps break out on my skin from the way he said my name. "And what were you doing in my bar?"

"I was one of the detectives working the case of two murdered women. Both of the victims were involved with Vampires and have been to your bar. I felt it was worth looking into." I explained, crossing my arms against the cool temperature of the night.

"Was working?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

Damn. I needed to be careful with my wording. "I am no longer on the case due to the fact that I knew the victims." I did not want to give him too much personal information about me. My name was more than enough.

"And yet you still continue your own investigation by coming to my bar to dig for clues?"

I lifted my chin. "Yes."

He seemed to approve of my answer. "Do you think it was a Vampire responsible for the deaths of these two women?"

"No, not anymore. But he must have been in your bar. That has to be the way he chooses his victims."

Eric continued to observe me. "How did you know the raid was going to happen?"

I'd been waiting for him to ask that question. "I recognized one of my colleagues from work. There would only be one reason for him to be in your bar and that would be to act as a lookout for any wrong doing."

"And the man in the bathroom? How did you know Tarin was draining him?"

Good question. Quelling the urge to clear my throat, I tried to think of a believable lie that the Vampire would accept.

"Where else would a Vampire feed? I don't think you all do that with an audience present, do you?"

Eric took a step forward, startling me to take a step back. His expression intensified and he seemed taller than ever. "I do not believe you. You knew exactly where to go. There was no hesitation in your step. Now, tell me the truth."

With wide eyes, I felt panic take over as my quick wit abandoned me.

Eric took another step forward and as I backed up again, I felt the hood of the Corvette bump into my thighs. Shit.

"Tell me." Eric whispered.

It was then that I felt him trying to glamour me. But instead of the normal tickling sensation I felt with other Vampires, Eric's glamour was like a caress. His influence danced over my consciousness, the touch of his will warm and sweet.

I swayed with the unexpected sensation, but I didn't fall under his spell.

"Mr. Northman," I half moaned, struggling to stay up right. "I don't appreciate it when Vampires try to glamour information from me."

Blinking, Eric released his hold on me. I sagged against the hood of the Corvette and took a deep breath, trying to clear my head. How had he done that? I was more troubled by the experience then I would like to admit.

"What are you?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, deciding it would be best to play ignorant.

Eric gave me a knowing smile. He knew what I was doing.

"Only a supernatural being is impervious to a Vampire's glamour. So, I will ask again, Miss Stackhouse; what are you?"

I was backed up in a corner with no way out.

"I don't think-" but I stopped talking as Eric pulled my body to his.

Gasping, I pushed against his chest as he pulled me closer to him, his superior strength overpowering me. I almost screamed as I felt him bend over me and bury his face in my neck, taking care to avoid the silver lariat. Was he going to bite me? I began to punch him as hard as I could, but my connecting fists felt like they were hitting an iron wall.

Tears stung my eyes as I felt him nuzzle me and I cringed at the sound of his fangs sliding into place. This was it. He was going to kill me and hide my body out here in the middle of nowhere. I should have listened to Rasul. I should have...

I stilled when instead of fangs tearing into my neck, my captor took long, deep breaths, taking my scent deep into his lungs. I felt his nose slide along the shell of my ear and a purr-like sound came from his throat.

Looking up at the night sky, I felt my body begin to react to the Vampire's nearness, the fear I felt seconds before quickly turning into arousal. Warmth pooled in my nether regions as Eric grinded up against me and I contemplated the idea of letting this blonde God ravish me on the hood of his car.

_Not like this. Not with some Vampire you just met._

"Mr. Northman," I panted, my shields failing me in light of the strange emotions his touch elicited. "Please stop."

It was the strangest feeling to have a man touch me and be completely unaware of his thoughts. I reveled in it.

Eric lifted his head, his face a mix of lust, confusion and wonder. Still holding me close, he brought his hand up and slowly ran his thumb along my bottom lip.

"What are you?" He sounded awestruck.

I gave him a sad smile. I couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear. "I'm just cop trying to do my job."

Pulling away, Eric took a few steps back and regarded me, his fangs slowly retracting up. I mourned the loss of contact with him.

Picking up my purse which had fallen to the ground during our strange embrace, Eric brushed his fingers over the red leather before handing it to me. Reaching out, I took the proffered handbag and murmured my thanks

"I will respect your secret, Miss Stackhouse. But it will only be a matter of time before I figure it out."

Before I could respond, Eric moved around the Corvette and opened the passenger door for me. Taking the hint, I walked toward him, thoroughly exhausted by the events of the last fourteen hours. I was just too tired to argue with him and my over warped mind couldn't think clearly enough to come up with a way to convince him that excluding my special talent, I was just a normal person.

Once we were on the interstate again and heading north, I felt myself sink into the luxurious leather seat. My eyelids felt heavy, but I fought against the lure of sleep with thoughts of tonight's events.

Why didn't Eric bite me when given such a golden opportunity? Why did his glamour feel so different? Why did I feel so safe with him? That last question had me truly stumped.

As we pulled back into the Fangtasia parking lot, I was surprised by how deserted it was. Besides a few cars, the lot was empty and the bar was closed. It was the complete opposite from the chaos of earlier.

I was curious what happened with the raid. The SWAT team must have gone home with heads hung low. I didn't feel any remorse over taking their bust from them. The man would have been dead by the time they showed up and I felt that a human life was more important than giving the owner grief for a silly misdemeanor.

After pointing out my car to Eric, he pulled up next to the Pontiac Grand Am.

"Well," I said, looking over at the Vampire. "Thank you for a memorable evening, Mr. Northman."

"You are most welcome, Miss Stackhouse," he replied, nodding his head.

We gazed at each other for a moment longer before I got out of the Corvette. As I was opening my car door, Eric called out to me.

"Miss Stackhouse."

Turning, I saw he was leaning over the passenger seat to look at me through the open window.

"We don't all feed in the bathroom. Perhaps I can show you sometime where I do it." he said suggestively, giving me a fangy smile.

I felt my face turn red. I opened my mouth to retort, but he put the Corvette in gear and drove off, the brake lights fading into the darkness.

With a thrill of terror and excitement, I knew that this wasn't the last I'd see of Eric Northman.

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><p><strong>Love it? Hate it? I can't tell you how many times I wrote something and then ended up deleting it. I wanted this meeting between them to have a certain mood and I hoped I achieved that. For those of you hoping that Sookie jumps right into the sack with Eric, I'm going to have to disappoint you. While my story is as far off from canon as you can go, I do want shades of the original to color the story to keep it in the SSN universe. It will be awhile before anything sexual happens, but I will keep you guys hot and bothered, don't worry. I always found that was half the fun between Eric and Sookie. Their chemistry is amazing and the teasing and tension between them makes the chase that much more exciting. :)<strong>

**I don't want you worrying that Sookie will become a telepath that can hear Vampire thoughts; she won't. In canon, Sookie heard Eric's thoughts once or twice. The fact that she hears him in my story is my way of keeping canon involved. :)**

**I will be making update notices on my profile page about the chapters I'm working on, plus I have added a cast list of actors and actresses that I see playing the roles of our favorite characters. While some of the actors are the same as True Blood, many of the female actresses are of my own choosing and I think they fit better. I hope you think so, as well.**

**Like my other story, Dead Set, I will be making a side story for Eric that runs parallel to Dig and covers events when Sookie is not around. Due to future events of Dig, it makes more sense to keep it separate. The name of Eric's POV will be called "Closer" and I should have that out within the next few days. While it won't have mega chapters, that doesn't make them any less important.  
><strong>

**I have updated my playlist(Link on profile page) with two new songs.  
><strong>

**Center of Attention by Jackson Waters-this song really is perfect for Eric and how he views Sookie.**

**E.T. by Katy Perry-While Eric is no alien, the lyrics of this song is perfect for Sookie's opinion of Eric. **

_**You're so hypnotizing  
>Could you be the devil?<br>Could you be an angel?**_

_**Take me, ta-ta-take me  
>Wanna be a victim<strong>_

**and this line in the song made me laugh-_Stun me with your lasers. _Hmm. Stun me with your taser? LOL. And the event that inspired this story was a cop Sookie kicking in the stall door and tasing Tarin. I think Sookie disillusioned Eric of any weakness on her part, huh?**

**Once again, thanks for reading. See you in _Closer. :=)_**


	8. Mine

**Greeting and salutations. So, Chapter 8 here is not really an update but more of a re-posting. I had originally posted this seperately, but I've decided against that now. The story will flow smoother this way, going back and forth as needed between Sookie and Eric.**

**This chapter is Eric's POV. Not Beta'd**

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><p>Mysterious. Graceful. Courageous.<p>

These were a few of the words that came to mind as I thought about the woman who entered my bar tonight.

Sookie Stackhouse.

Who was she? Where did she come from? What was it about her that affected me so?

I recognized her name, but Rasul had never gone into too much detail about the police detectives he worked with, aside from the fact that the male was a werewolf. It made me wonder what else he was keeping from me.

Settling into the large leather chair behind my desk in the back office of Fangtasia, I pulled up the security playback on my computer. Switching between the surveillance cameras, I found the video feed I wanted. Leaning back, I watched the petite blonde sitting at the corner table, innocently sipping her water as she watched the crowd around her.

It had been just another boring night of answering emails from Vampires in my terroitory and doing the payroll. It was right at the moment I was debating whether to go out onto the floor and entertain the rabble with a rare appearance that the security monitor caught my attention.

A woman of incomparable beauty walked into the club and for the next hour, I found myself entranced, unable to look away. When it appeared that she was leaving, I had been overcome with something akin to panic at the thought that she was going to leave and I would never know who she was.

Sookie Stackhouse.

I smiled as I thought of the events that proceeded our introduction. The evening began quite differently from what I had initially planned. It was a pleasure to be in the company of a woman who was intelligent and beautiful wrapped within a package of strength and daring. She was a rare find, a perfect combination of hard and soft.

And it may have been over a millennia since I've last seen the sun, but I could see the blue of the sky in the color of her eyes...

My musings were interrupted by a quick knock and the opening of my office door. Pam entered and came striding towards my desk. She looked quite pleased with herself.

"For you," she said, tossing a pair of fangs onto the desk. They were small and sharp, covered with blood and pieces of flesh from where they'd been embedded into the gum line.

"Not that those will pay for the damage caused by the police raid," Pam continued, smiling evilly, "but I sure did enjoy meting out the punishment for what could have been a hefty fine."

"I assume Tarin is contrite?" I asked, amused by my progeny.

Pam licked her lips. "Oh yes, I made sure of it. Long Shadow is none too pleased, but perhaps if he kept a better eye on his child, incidents like this wouldn't have to happen."

"I agree," I said, pushing the fangs to the side.

"We may very well lose our insurance now, due to this fiasco. This is the third police raid since we have opened this bar. It is beginning to become expensive and they will view us as a liability." Pam groused, crossing her arms over her chest.

"True. But we can't be held responsible for the acts of the Shreveport Police Department. Thanks to Miss Stackhouse, we dodged a bullet tonight. If anything like this happens again within my bar, the pulling of fangs will seem like child's play in comparison to what I have planned for the one responsible. You can pass that along to the others."

Pam quirked an eyebrow. "Miss Stackhouse? And how did that pan out?"

"Quite well, actually. I'm still at a loss of how she knew about Tarin, but I will learn her secret in the end. I have nothing but time." I said determinedly, rubbing my forefinger and thumb together. I could still feel the touch of her petal soft lips.

"I don't know what was more fun this evening," Pam crowed, truly delighting in Tarin's humiliation, "pulling Tarin's fangs or watching her tasered by a human. It just adds insult to injury."

I decided to keep the fact that Miss Stackhouse was glamour-proof to myself. Until I knew what she was, it was better to err on the side of caution.

As Pam made to leave my office, she paused by the door and looked over her shoulder at me. "Rasul is here. Shall I send him in?"

"Please do," I answered, nodding my head at her in thanks.

Another knock came moments later and Rasul entered.

"Master," he said, bowing his dark head.

"Anything to report?" I asked, sitting up straighter in my chair.

"There has been another murder in Bon Temps. From what I have been told, the victim was killed in the same fashion as the first," Rasul explained, taking a seat in front of my desk as I gestured for him to sit. "In addition, the female detective has been removed from the case. She has personal links to both of the deceased and the Lieutenant felt it best that she be reassigned."

"That is...unfortunate." I responded, truly concerned about the death of these two women. Vampire relations with the human populace were worse at best and with crimes like this, idiotic people might take matters into their own hands and deliver vigilante justice to Vampires who were innocent of any wrong doing.

I had enough problems to take care of within my territory; I didn't need a human uprising against Vampires I was sworn to protect.

"Indeed," Rasual sighed, "To make matters worse, tracking the killer might be next to impossible. Herveaux has informed me that the scent has been dampened by soil. The werewolf was unable to pick up any pheromones, just the smell of freshly dug earth."

"And the first crime scene? Was he able to discern anything there?" I asked, frowning.

Rasul shook his head. "The first crime scene was compromised and the scent was lost."

It would be, wouldn't it? Just the same, it was prudent to pay a visit to these women's home and see if I could detect anything.

Staring at Rasul, I decided to broach the subject of Sookie Stackhouse.

"On a different note, I received the most intriguing visitor tonight," I said, carefully choosing my words.

"Oh? And who was that?" Rasul asked tilting his head curiously.

Grabbing the remote control laying on my desk, I turned on the plasma televison mounted on the wall next to my desk. After a few clicks of the mouse on the computer, I redirected the video feed from the security camera to play on the stretched screen.

The image of Detective Sookie Stackhouse caused Rasul to rise halfway out of his seat, his eyebrows shooting up towards his hairline. "Sookie." Her name was a whisper on his lips.

I was surprised by his reaction. Rasul never showed any emotion and that he did so in my presence meant only one thing; he had feelings for her. I felt a surge of possessive anger at the thought.

"Sookie came here tonight?" Rasul asked, his eyes glued to the image on the plasma.

"Yes, she did," I responded, watching as Rasul settled back down into his chair, trying to affect an air of calm he obviously was not feeling. "You never told me that you worked with such a delightful creature."

"I did not think it relevant," Rasul responded, his eyes tightening.

"I will give you quarter on that, but imagine my surprise when a woman like her comes into my club and I recognize her name as the detective who works with you."

Standing, I came around to the front of my desk and stared down at Rasul. I did not like surprises. Granted, the surpise Sookie Stackhouse presented was a pleasant one, but I always wanted to be ready for anything that came my way.

"I apologize, Master. It will not happen again."

Watching Rasul, I noticed how unsettled he was. His eyes strayed to the screen behind me, his hands clenching the armrests of his chair. He did not like that I knew of this woman's existence.

"You care for her, don't you?" I asked, another bite of anger causing my hands to fist.

"I do not care for humans," Rasul scoffed.

I smirked. "Neither do I, old friend. But she is not truly human now, is she?" Rasul's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak, but I continued talking. "She was sitting with me when she became quite agitated and said that a police raid was going to storm Fangtasia at any moment. She then proceeded to tell me that Long Shadow's progeny was draining a human in the ladies restroom. How would she know that? Is she psychic?"

Rasul shook his head. "No, she isn't a psychic. If she was, she would know who was going to be killed and when it was going to happen. What explanation did she give you?"

"She told me that she recognized a colleague from work to explain the police raid. She had no answers though when it came to what Tarin was doing in the restrooms. When I tried to glamour the information from her, she was immune to it. You know as well as I do that only the supernatural can resist our influence."

"Yes," Rasul sighed, "she resisted me as well when I tried to glamour her when we started working together."

"You knew she couldn't be glamoured and didn't feel the need to tell me?!"I thundered, my fangs snicking down in my fury. "What else have you been keeping from me, Rasul?"

Rasul tried not to cringe from my wrath. "I am loyal only to you, Eric. I would never keep anything of importance from you. Sookie is not a threat and has proved her worth to me. I just want to keep her safe and off the radar. She is a genuinely good person. How was I to know that she would catch your eye after all these years?"

Considering his words, I felt myself calm slightly. I would normally deal out severe punishment for such a violation of trust, but as I mulled his words over, I re-evaluated the situation. I only trusted a handful of Vampires. And there were only two that I trusted implicitly; Pamela and Rasul.

I had found Rasul three centuries ago, a young Vampire abandoned by his Maker and at the mercy of his blood lust. He had been reckless and out of control without the guidance that a Maker gave to their child.

When I saw him for the first time, covered in blood and almost wild with animalistic hunger, I had considered leaving him to his fate; that was until the thought of my own Maker's cruelty changed my mind. I taught him how to control the gut wrenching pain that only blood could satisfy and gave him the knowledge that would secure his survival. In doing so, I had gained a powerful ally that was loyal only to me.

"You have disappointed me, Rasul," I said, leaning close to his face. "Do it again and Tarin's fangs won't be the only ones sitting on my desk."

With a tight nod, Rasul looked at me with apprehension is his eyes.

Straightening, I returned to stand by the chair behind my desk. "From now on, you are to report any new information about Sookie Stackhouse to me. While I do not like that you kept this to yourself, I do agree with your reasoning. She is in danger if the wrong sources find out about her. She is a rare supernatural. I have never smelled anything quite like her before. She smells like...sunshine."

"Yes, Master," Rasual said, standing.

Turning, he headed toward the office door, our meeting at an end. Sitting back down, I looked up in surprise when Rasul called my name.

"Before I go, I need to know...are you interested in her for _what_ she is or for _who_ she is?" Rasual asked, his question catching me off guard.

For the first time ever, I found that I was truly interested in a woman purely for the sake of getting to know who she was. It was a strange feeling. My interest almost always benefited me in some way; whether it was to feed or to inherit wealth and power. But it was different this time. This woman was different.

I wanted her in ways I couldn't describe. It was foreign to me.

"While I'm indeed curious of what she is, I find myself more captivated with the idea of learning who she is."

Rasul seemed satisfied with my answer. Leaving me to my thoughts, he left my office with a soft click of the door.

Returning my attention once more to the computer screen, I continued to watch the security footage. I mentally added another notation to the growing list of words that described Sookie Stackhouse; _Mine_.

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><p><strong>So, almost a whole year, no update. I know, I suck. But hey, RL. Lot new things happened and I had to focus on other stuff. I will try to start working on chapter 9 when I have the time, but I do need to refresh myself with my notes and such I wrote for this story. Hopefully you won't have to wait a year. (Ok, lame joke)<strong>


	9. Heartless

**Woohoo, a real update! I feel so proud!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I will get around to answering them ASAP! Plus, thanks to everyone who clicked favorite and follow. :)**

**This chapter is back in SPOV. It is not Beta'd.**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>After spending my day off obsessing over my encounter with Eric Northman, I was relieved to go into work Tuesday morning.<p>

My Monday had consisted of sleeping until noon and after getting up and eating a quick bowl of cereal, I had powered up my laptop, determined to find some information on the perplexing Vampire.

I had only meant to make my search a quick one, but after Googling Eric and seeing all the websites dedicated to him, my quest of curiosity turned into something more.

I was shocked at the number of websites that were only about him. Men and women alike speculated on the elusive Vampire, many bemoaning the fact that while he took the blood willingly offered to him, he never went further than that. I wasn't sure whether to believe the nonsense I read or not, for the Vampire I had met the night before had oozed so much sexual tension I was surprised I didn't choke on it.

Another peculiar thing I found were the lack of photos. Many artists had taken Eric's visage to canvas or sketched him on a piece of paper, but an actual photograph was nowhere to be found.

Needless to say, by the end of my search, I had more questions than answers about Eric Northman. I was irritated by the dead end I found myself in and in an attempt to get rid of my nervous energy, I spent the rest of the evening at the gym.

Upon entering the office, I was a little surprised to see Alcide at his desk. He usually arrived later than I did and as I set my purse down, I spied the dark circles under his eyes. He looked beyond exhausted.

"Hey, you okay?" I asked softly in greeting, coming around to his side of the desk.

He gave me a tired smile and grunted in response. "I've been better."

Placing my hand on his shoulder, I leaned down toward him, genuinely worried. "Can I help?"

"Nah, just been going through all the files and evidence reports. Plus," he looked around discreetly, making sure noone was within ear shot, "the full moon is coming up. I usually feel like shit if I'm not getting a full nights sleep before hand. But don't worry. I'll be okay. How are you? How is Jason holding up?"

Opening my mouth to respond, I froze when I heard my name spoken in the familiar voice of my Lieutenant. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Whitley leaning against the door jamb of his office.

"Can I see you in my office, Sookie?" he asked, taking a sip from the coffee mug in his hand.

Smiling, I nodded my head. "Sure. I'll be right there."

Returning my attention back to Alcide, I sighed softly. "Jason is doing okay. I talked to him last night after I got home from the gym. He's hanging in there." Jason was still raw around the edges, but I had every confidence that he would get over this.

Alcide quirked an eyebrow. "And you? How was the rest of your weekend?"

I had to remind myself that my partner had yet to know that I went to Fangtasia by myself and the drama that ensued. Better keep that kernel of information to myself.

Busying myself with taking my blazer off and draping it over the back of my chair, I shrugged innocently. "You know me," I said, stowing my purse in the bottom drawer of my desk, "nothing ever exciting happens on my days off. I lazed about all day, then I went to the gym and beat the ever living crap out of a boxing bag."

"Sounds pretty boring," Alcide hummed, leaning back in his chair, which creaked ominously under his large frame.

"Exactly," I agreed, smoothing the wrinkles from the silk blouse I was wearing.

"Funny thing though," Alcide began, just as I was turning to go to Whitley's office, "Hartman was in here yesterday complaining about his failed raid at Fangtasia Sunday night. Swears that he saw you there."

Pausing in my movements, I glanced back at Alcide. His piercing green eyes caught mine and held them captive. I tensed up, preparing myself to be chastised.

"I'm not going to pretend to understand why you would go to that place. What I want from you is a promise that if you ever go there again, you tell me. People who get mixed up with Vampires usually end up as one or in a grave. I worry enough for you as it is, but imagining you in that place makes my blood run cold."

I felt his worry for my safety go straight to my heart and instead of saying something snarky at his request, I nodded my head slowly, finally breaking eye contact with him.

"I promise," I murmured. He was right. It'd been reckless and foolish of me to go there, alone.

"Well, I better go see what the Lieutenant wants," I said softly, offering Alcide a small smile, which he returned with one of his own. He seemed relieved that I wasn't fighting him on the subject.

Heading over to the Lieutenant's office, he bade me to enter after I knocked on the door.

"Ah, here she is," Whitley was saying as I stepped inside .

My attention was immediately drawn to the man occupying the chair in front of my Lieutenant's desk. He had shaggy brown hair and boyish features.

"Sookie, I would like to introduce you to Detective Hugh Martin. You will be joining him on reassignment."

The new Detective stared at me with raised eyebrows. After an awkward pause, he jumped to his feet, eagerly offering me his hand.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Detective Stackhouse. I have heard so much about you." he gushed, his hazel eyes studying me intently.

Taking his hand in a firm grip, I shook his hand. Slowly, I lowered my shields, taking the opportunity to use the skin contact to get a good read on the kind of person I would be working with.

_...so, so beautiful. Keep it together, Hugh. Don't make yourself look like an idiot. Wow, her eyes are so blue. She should be on the covers of a magazine, not working grisly murder cases...wow, she is so beautiful..._

Putting my shields back in place, I had to bite my lip to stop the smile that wanted to form. If only all the thoughts I heard about myself were so flattering, I would have had an easier time growing up.

Glancing down at our joined hands, I was unsure of how to politely remove my own which was still clasped within Hugh Martin's hand. He continued to look at me dreamily, lost in thought.

I looked over at Whitley, who helplessly shrugged his shoulders at my dilemma. Raising a fist to his mouth, he coughed softly, which seemed to bring Hugh back to reality. He immediately flushed red as he released my hand, which I discreetly wiped on the back of my skirt, hoping to rid the sweat that had formed.

"Take a seat, Sookie. I have to be in court in an hour and I would like to get you up to speed on the details of this case," Whitley stated, dropping a case file folder on his desk.

Taking a seat in the extra chair, I crossed my legs and gave my full attention to the Lieutenant.

"Martin is from our Bossier City Division. He has been working this alone since the department there is running low on personnel and I figured that this case would do well with you on it." Whitley said, gesturing toward the case folder. Leaning forward, I grabbed the folder and opened it. My eyes widened slightly by the picture that greeted me.

The picture was of an older black gentleman, sprawled out on the ground with a gaping hole in his chest where his heart should have been.

"I'm not sure if you have been paying attention to the news, but there has been a string of three murders within the last three weeks. The first body was found in the Red River National Wildlife Refuge. The second was found in Haughton, near the interstate. The third was found on the outskirts of Minden." Whitley sighed heavily, his brown eyes serious as he looked at me. "As you can see, the murders themselves are disturbing enough. But what is most concerning is the fact that fifty years ago, five people lost their lives in the same manner."

I frowned, my eyes going back to the folder in my lap. Quickly thumbing through the pictures and ignoring the ghastly sight on each one, I found the file report and quickly read the pertinent information.

Keyon Wilkins, 53, was the first victim to be found. An employee of the Red River National Wildlife Refuge, he was found in the early hours of the morning by park rangers after his wife phoned, worried when her husband had not returned home the previous night.

Jamie Arlon, 17, was the second to have his heart ripped out. Found two miles from the interstate, the teenager was a runaway and had been missing from his Baton Rouge home for over year.

The third, which oddly enough was found during the time I was entertaining the Rattray's Friday night, was Louis Benoit, 36. A truck driver, he was found at a rest stop outside Minden.

Pursing my lips, the first thing I noticed caused me to look up and stare at Whitley with a hint of fear. "They're moving East." Bon Temps was to the East.

"The murders from fifty years ago followed the same pattern," Hugh said, staring at me. "When we found Mr. Wilkins body, my first thought was that perhaps someone was dabbling in Voodoo and needed a human heart, but that was before the second murder and it came to light that the same thing happened back in '62. If the murderer stays true to the original killings, the next body will be found in Taylor."

I fidgeted with the hem of my skirt. "And the fifth?"

"Just outside of Bon Temps." Hugh answered.

Looking at my Lieutenant, I was confused why he would put me on another case that might lead to my home town and someone there having their heart ripped out. He seemed to understand the look I gave him and spoke up.

"I understand your concern, Sookie. I assure you, if it had not been for your brother, you would still be working the other case with Alcide. As it is, the Captain has insisted that this case become priority number one and that I put my best detective on it. There is talk that the FBI might get involved considering that this is obviously a copycat."

"But is it truly a copycat?" Hugh piped up, scooting forward in his chair.

Looking at him curiously, I felt compelled to ask, "What makes you think otherwise?"

"If you look at the coroner's report," he began, grabbing the case folder from my lap, "he stated that each victim literally had their heart ripped out, almost like in Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. The hearts were not cut out and the arteries around the hearts were severely damaged from the force used to pull the heart from the chest cavity."

I winced at the description. "But what makes you think it's not a copycat? Were the murders from '62 different?"

Hugh shook his head, a gleam of excitement in his eyes. "No. They're chillingly familiar in every way. The reason I don't think this is a copycat is because of the claw marks found around the wounds."

Looking at the picture of Mr. Wilkins once again, I noticed the slight gouge marks around the hole in his chest. I glanced up at Hugh, still unsure of where he was taking his theory.

"I mean, come on! Think about it! We always thought the tales of Vampires were just stories, but then we get a reality check when we find out they truly do exist! What if this is some other supernatural creature, just like the Vampires, and this ripping hearts out of peoples chests is some kind of ritual or something?"

Before I could even process what he said, Lieutenant Whitley quickly spoke up. "Martin, let's stick to the facts of the case. Until Bigfoot and the Abominable Snowman come out of the woods and say they are real too, I want you to approach this case at a realistic angle. We are on a deadline and I don't need the Captain breathing down my neck because you are stuck in middle earth."

Hugh seemed to deflate after that. I felt bad for the guy. He was obviously passionate about his beliefs, and while his imagination did seem to be to large for his head, he wasn't too far off in his ideas.

He was right. Besides the Vampires, there were werewolves and what ever class of supernatural Sam was that allowed him to turn into different animals. I began to zone out as the Lieutenant continued to talk, my mind turning inwards as I considered Hugh's words.

What other kind of creatures were out there? When a child cried out in the middle of the night and claimed that there were monsters in the closet, was it true? Were dragons, goblins and trolls real?

The endless possibilities shook me to the core, causing me to reflect on myself.

My telepathy was a supernatural ability. Was I a normal human born with this talent like I'd always thought, or was I something more, the telepathy just a small part of who I truly was?

The thought caused me to shiver, fear of the unknown taking hold. As a child, Gran told me that I was special, that God gave me the power to read minds because I was special and he would never have given me this gift if I could not handle it. I had never questioned her explanation and or gave much thought where the true orgin of my telepathy came from, especially after I came to terms with it.

But now questions flooded my mind, questions that were undoubtedly dangerous and frightening. Questions I wasn't sure I wanted the answers to.

As my eyes came back into focus and my attention returned to where I was, the first thing I became aware of were the photos still resting in my lap. Lifting my head, I blinked, trying to get my swarming thoughts under control.

"...have the extensive archives at your disposal, I would suggest starting there. Modern forensics can only get you so far, sometimes you have to do real detective work and look for clues in overlooked places. I expect an update on the case in forty-eight hours. Any questions?"

I shook my head immediately, hoping that he didn't notice that I missed the majority of his debriefing.

"All right then, you are free to go," he said, reaching for his briefcase and standing.

Hugh nodded at the Lieutenant and exited the office, visibly embarrassed by the rebuke he'd received. Gathering all the photos and files, I slipped them back into the case folder and stood as well.

"Sookie, are you all right? You are awfully pale," Whitley asked, pausing by the door as he observed me.

Forcing a weak smile, I clutched the case folder to my chest. "Yeah, I just didn't eat any breakfast or drink any coffee this morning. I'll be right as rain as soon as I get some food and caffeine in me."

"Okay," he said, readjusting the grip on his briefcase. "I gotta get to court. See you later."

Exiting the office after Whitley left, I was surprised to see Hugh leaning against the wall outside the door. He stood up straight when he saw me and stepped forward.

"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to go off on a tangent. It's just...I think...," he paused, unable to explain himself further.

"Hey, I understand," I said, slowly walking back to my desk. Hugh followed after me. "You think outside the box. I like that."

"Really?" he asked, genuinely surprised.

Laying the files on my desk, I turned to him and nodded. "Sure. If we all thought the same, nothing would ever get done now, would it? But, I have to ask," I lowered my voice and leaned forward, "do you really believe that...that-"

"That these victims were killed by something that wasn't human? Absolutely." he said, a little too loudly for my liking. A few of the other detectives, Alcide included, looked at him.

"We all know that rumours usually have some truth to them, so why can't fairy tales and old lore be looked at as non fiction, stories that describe first hand accounts that these people had with supernatural creatures? Vampires are real, so is it so far fetched to think werewolves, elves or even unicorns could be real?"

A pin could have dropped in that office and be heard. Hugh's little speech had gained the attention of everyone and I had to physically stop myself from looking at Alcide.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Martin! You should take that act out on the road! You may even get more money than you are now!" a voice yelled out.

The whole office erupted in laughter, loud guffaws and condescending whispers slamming against my shields. I grimaced, the mockery of everyone washing over me and in a fit of anger, I whipped around and glared at the one man who needed to be taken down a few notches.

"Hartman," I called out harshly, my eyes narrowing in on my target. The first wave of laughter died down. "Don't you have something better to do? Perhaps writing out a report on your failed raid at Fangtasia would be a good place to start."

Hartman turned red as all eyes turned toward him and I smiled in satisfaction. I hated bully's and I was happy to repay that one forward all the way. He deserved it.

Turning back to Hugh, I put my hand on his shoulder, trying to show some solidarity. "Why don't you go get your car and I'll meet you in the garage. You can show me the sites where the three bodies were found."

Flashing me a thankful look, he left the office as I stared after him. Running my hand over my bun, I bent over to retrieve my badge and I.D. from my purse and locked the drawer after I was done.

"Sookie."

Glancing up at Alcide, he motioned for me to follow him. I knew what he wanted to talk about.

Out in the hallway, he paused for a moment, then opened the door to the janitor closet and grabbed my arm, pulling me inside.

"You need to be careful with him," he said right away, a tinge of panic in his eyes.

"Alcide, he doesn't know anything-" I began, but he cut me off.

"But that's the thing, he believes it! If someone overhears him that shouldn't, he will be taken out to protect secrets that need to stay quiet. He will be viewed as a threat. And if you are with him when he says the wrong thing, you will be viewed as a threat as well. Please, promise me you will be careful."

Staring up into his eyes, I nodded solemnly. I would try my best to keep him focused, but I still couldn't help the curiosity that welled up in me at his beliefs and part of me wanted to talk to him about it.

Alcide let out the breath he was holding. I could only imagine how weird it must have been for him to listen to Hugh talk out about werewolves existing. He was shaken.

"I'll call you later, okay?" I said, patting his arm sleeve.

Opening the door and stepping out into the hallway, I marched toward the double doors that led to the elevators, ready to start my new case.

* * *

><p><strong>Yup, time to start weaving book two into the story.<br>**

**I really enjoyed writing this chapter, it flowed well for me and I hope you like where I'm taking Sookie's reassignment. Curious to see what everyone's take on it is.**

**I hope you like Hugh. He is one of those scatterbrained dreamers with a big imagination. But he really is a good guy. He is one of those men who are always friend listed by the women he likes. :( In my mind, I see Jack Black playing this character perfectly.**

**On a somber note, Hugh Martin was a real man. He does not share any of the personality trait's my Hugh has, but he was a Sheriff's Deputy of the Colorado Springs Sheriff's Department and worked with my Dad. In April 1992, Hugh Martin was murdered in a S.W.A.T raid from a shotgun wound to the chest. He was wearing a bullet proof vest. He was killed right in front of my Dad, who was originally supposed to go through the door first, but Hugh took point and his life was snuffed out. He left behind a wife and a young son. His death affected my Dad really bad. He even got a tattoo on his leg in memory of him. :)**

**On my youtube soundtrack list, I added a new song. By Garth Brooks, The Last Dance was played at Hugh's funeral.**

**Sorry to end the chapter like this, but I needed to do it. My Dad came home to his family because of him. You are missed, Hugh.  
><strong>


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